


Of All the Places

by shimmermetimbers



Category: World of Warcraft
Genre: Consensual Sex, Cross-Faction Romance, Eventual Smut, Explicit Sexual Content, F/M, F/M/M, Fluff and Smut, Friendship/Love, Polyamory, Sexual Tension, She is inexperienced, Slow Burn, The guys are sweet and patient, slow seduction
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-27
Updated: 2021-02-04
Packaged: 2021-03-06 21:55:28
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 19
Words: 54,953
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26145985
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shimmermetimbers/pseuds/shimmermetimbers
Summary: Svanna is a naive human servant from Stormwind who falls for a slaver scam during a vulnerable time in her life. When all hope seems lost, she is saved by an attack on her captors' camp. The orc and the troll who rescued her free her, but she is too weak to flee. This is how Urguz, an orc warrior, and Rokal, a troll mage, unexpectedly end up with a human woman in their household. At first, their rapport is uneasy...but soon enough a sincere and caring friendship begins to develop among them. And perhaps...something more?
Relationships: Female Human(s)/Male Orc(s) (Warcraft), Female Human(s)/Male Troll(s) (Warcraft)
Comments: 155
Kudos: 278





	1. The Unexpected

**Author's Note:**

> Trigger warning in this chapter for attempted rape. It is brief and doesn't succeed, but please skip the second section if you don't want to read it.

Svanna kept her eyes shut tightly even as the heavy footfalls approached her, punctuated with the heavy clang of metal. Her cheek rested over the rocky ground, her shoulders slumped forward, and the shackles were still fastened to her wrists. 

Someone spoke further away from the foreboding presence that had now blocked her body from the heat of the campfire. She did not understand the language at all.

Silence. Svanna did not dare move—she even held her breath and did her best to appear like a corpse.

Someone else interjected something and she sensed movement above her. He spoke, his voice low and rumbling.

Svanna’s eyes shot open when a heavy hand grasped her shoulder.

* * *

The attack on their camp had occurred suddenly. Earlier on, the slavers had dragged all seven of them to a clearing, cursing and complaining all along. They’d been delayed, the contact that was supposed to meet them to hand off the caravan had not arrived, and tempers were beginning to fray. Svanna hadn’t wanted to go with Newlin when it came time to escort the captives behind the rock formation so they could relieve themselves before settling for the night. That had usually been Kiya’s job—to lead the women in their group—three of them— in such daily rituals. But that night, Kiya had hunkered down before the fire, in a foul mood, and hadn’t objected when Newlin approached the women captives with a troubling leer in his eyes.

“Mmm…” he pretended to muse, eyeing them. He extended a finger and let it hover in the air indecisively. “You,” he declared at last, breaking out in a sly grin while pointing at Svanna.

“I don’t need to go,” Svanna had retorted.

The others said nothing, watching the scene warily.

“Oh, you are going now. Otherwise, you will have shit in your bedroll because no one is taking you later.” He bent down and grabbed the heavy chain connecting her wrists, yanking it up. She stood unsteadily, trying to catch her balance. She tried to remain calm and steadfast even when Newlin ran his fingertips around her legs as he slowly undid the shackles around her ankles. When she offered him her wrists, he whistled, amused.

“Oh, no, no. Keep those on.”

“But Kiya always—”

He seized her by her grimy shirt and began to tug her away from the camp, toward the rocks.

“I can’t move my hands or arms properly with these on!” she protested, trying to keep her voice from quivering. 

Newlin chuckled, obviously indifferent to her plea, reaching a desolate spot behind the rocks

“That is the point, my sweet.” And with that, he reeled her in, against his chest, assailing her neck with a clumsy kiss. His breath reeked of drink and he exuded a stale odor of sweat and grease. She attempted to shove him off her with all her might, twisting her neck away from him.

“I thought you weren’t supposed to 'damage the merchandise'!” she cried out loudly, in hopes the other slavers would rush over and stop him from what he was planning to do with her.

“Plans change, my sweet,” he muttered, pawing at her shirt, taking small nips of her neck with his yellowed teeth.

Panic rose within her when she realized that what she had been dreading since she had been tricked into that captivity was about to occur. 

Her heart frantically beating, she tried to wrest herself out of his grasp, but he pushed her against the largest stone slab and began to fumble with the laces of his trousers. With one bulky arm, he kept her pinned against the rock, while his hand held the chains to her shackles tightly, forcing her wrists together, rendering her unable to dash away. The faint glow of the moon managed to reveal the horror before her: he’d pulled out his limp, flaccid member, a perverse gleam in his eyes. She began to wriggle angrily, trying her best to make him falter, lose his grip. 

“Stop!” she growled. “You’ll fetch a better price for me if I remain a virgin!”

This caused him to guffaw in an infuriating manner.

“A virgin! You’re just a lowly servant girl, not some princess breeder!” He stroked his cock until it began to swell. “But I like that you are untouched: no chance of contracting any disease,” he concluded. He grabbed the hem of her skirt and began to yank it up. The lascivious expression in his face grew darkly lusty as his hands skimmed the front of her modest undergarment. He cupped her between the legs, his fingers pressing into the cotton, outlining her sex. Her heart raced against her chest, desperation and horror seizing her at the prospect of being violated and being completely helpless to prevent it from occurring. “Mmm. So soft, my sweet. I can’t wait to break you in. Maybe if you are good to me, I’ll keep you for myself for the rest of the journey,” he proposed, his words laden with indifferent cruelty. He lurched forward ungracefully.

She opened her mouth to scream, except that the blood-curdling scream she heard was not hers. More screaming started. It all happened very quickly: Newlin hurriedly tucked himself into his trousers and unsheathed his short sword while lunging toward the campfire. She stumbled forward as he pulled her by her chains, pushing her down to the ground as they reached the camp.

“Orc!” he cried, half alarmed, half furious. 

Svanna fell and found herself face to face with Kiya, whose lifeless but bewildered glassy-eyed stare revealed she hadn’t even had time to unsheathe her weapon. A pool of blood collected on the ground around her lifeless body. When Svanna peered up, she saw a large hulking figure bring down a massive morning star against one of the slavers’ shields, splintering it. The menacing figure, whose back was turned to her, was clad in black garments. He was blocking her field of vision, but she understood, from the muffled cry and gruesome cracking sounds, that the morning star had struck flesh and bone. A heavy thud followed the brief scuffle and it was then that Svanna decided that she should play dead.

* * *

Urguz watched as the last of the chained humans hobbled off, moving swiftly, their ankle chains limiting their movement. He shrugged before turning to Rokal, who had watched nearby, his staff ensconced in his hand. 

“They didn't even wait for you to break those chains,” Rokal sighed. “Not even a thank you.” The humans disappeared into the darkness and Rokal sucked his tooth, wondering how soon the patrols from the city would run into them.

Urguz ignored the troll as he surveyed the small encampment. It was a miserable haul—it usually was, when slavers came that way, trying to avoid the patrols from various towns—Alliance and Horde— by crossing through the mountains. They traveled light, their precious cargo consisting of a few unfortunate souls that were likely headed to be sold off clandestinely at some waiting ship further south along the coast.

“Desperate times call for desperate measures,” Rokal liked to say.

He moved about the camp, sorting through scattered belongings, kicking satchels, canteens, and discarded bedrolls about. There had been some gold, a few rations, a nice kit consisting of a flint striker and a chert, a couple daggers, and a few standard-issue blankets. 

“All da slavers- all dead?” Rokal asked softly, stepping into the fire-lit circle. Five human slavers lay on the ground. His brow furrowed when he noticed a chained woman lying lifelessly. Urguz avoided striking anyone who was unarmed…but maybe, in the heat of combat, she had somehow gotten in the way? Rokal, as if reading his thoughts, stepped forward and stood before the woman. They beheld her in silence, Rokal aware of an old melancholy rising within him before he was startled from his reverie by Urguz's deep voice.

“No. This one is still alive,” he announced.

* * *

Urguz glared at Svanna disapprovingly as she clasped her hands.

“Why didn’t you run away, like the others?” he complained in a surprisingly fluent Common. Now they had to deal with her.

“I couldn’t,” she replied faintly.

“Your ankles aren’t bound like the others’,” he pointed out. His expression darkened as realization dawned upon him. “You were assisting the slavers. They must have trusted you.” He reached for the morning star hanging from his thick leather belt.

She thrust her arms forward, shaking her shackles at him.

“Here’s your trust!” she cried, wild-eyed. 

Urguz hesitated before taking his hand off the morning star’s wooden club.

“Gol’kosh,” he muttered, betraying his exhaustion. “Stretch that chain over here and turn your head away,” he ordered her tersely, indicating a large rock. 

She moved slowly, warily, watchful of the green-skinned orc. She tentatively rested her wrists on the rock, the chain taut between the stone. Before she could understand what was happening, a flash of metal flew down a few times, causing a rash of sparks to dance over the chains as they broke from the impact. A small mallet fell heavily to the ground when he was done. 

“There. You are free to go. Stay on this road and one of the patrols will find you.” He turned his back to her after picking up the mallet and tossing her a dagger and a blanket. She remained still, staring at the broken links. When she raised her eyes, both the orc and a slender, wiry troll began to stroll away from the camp.

“Wait!” she called out. The two halted and turned to look at her.

“Thank you,” she said weakly, before collapsing.

* * *

“Dis was a disaster,” Rokal grumbled as they took the last bend on the mountain path that would lead them to their secluded home base. He was especially annoyed that he was stuck carrying all their loot—something that had always been delegated to Urguz. Instead, he was staring at that inconvenient woman slung over the orc’s shoulder as if she were a simple sack of flour, her honey-colored head bouncing with each step against Urguz’s broad back. “What are we going to do with her?”

“We couldn't leave her behind. She wouldn’t survive,” Urguz stated simply. 

Rokal shrugged, but he agreed. The region was unsafe. Highwaymen, wild animals, among other dangers, prowled in the region. And she looked so…frail. So…broken. 

They both halted before a steep, jagged fall. 

“Wait,” Rokal warned. “I need to trace da marks on her or she will trigger da ward, invalidatin’ all ya valiant efforts…” he teased. The orc merely stared ahead as Rokal produced a bundle of herbs bound into a stick from his robe’s pocket. He watched the troll light it up, and after burning down somewhat, blow it out into a hot, glowing tip. They waited a couple minutes more as the embers died down and a black, sooty tip topped the stick. He lightly smudged the back of his hand, and seeing a soft trail of black ash left behind, nodded approvingly. 

Rokal traced the symbols up the unconscious woman’s arms.

“Are you done?” Urguz turned his head slightly to the side. 

“Yes,” Rokal agreed, contemplating his handiwork. “She be ready now.” 

If anyone ever managed to follow them up the mountain trail, it would have appeared, as clear as day, even though it was night, that the three had stepped over the jagged cliff into an abyss.

* * *

It was a clever, clever spell. Rokal was a powerful mage, after all. 

The three emerged into a clearing surrounded by rocks. It was a perfect hideaway. They had built themselves rustic cabins— simple, one room, made of wood from the forest at the foot of the mountains, sitting across from each other. Rokal dropped the heavy load of goods before his door. He would sort through it the next day. Right then, he wanted to collapse on his bed and surrender to oblivion.

“Night!” he called out to Urguz, pushing the door open.

“You aren’t going to help me with her?” Urguz asked, irritated. 

Rokal wiggled his fingers in a parting gesture at the orc.

“She be YA problem. Ya decided to bring her here. Now, ya be da one dealin’ with her.”

The door shut loudly behind him.

Urguz grunted before marching to his own cabin and kicking the door open.

* * *

Svanna had no idea how long she had been unconscious for. All she knew was that her head ached something fierce and her entire body ached, especially her back and neck, as if they had been strained. When she tried to run her hand through her hair, one of the dangling links from the broken chain on her wrist slapped her in the face.

“I’ll take those off tomorrow,” she heard a familiar deep voice reassure her. 

It was then that she took it all in: she had been at the wretched camp, the slavers were dead, the others had fled, and she had collapsed before the orc and the troll who had freed her left. She realized she was in a small dark room, the wind rushing overhead, while the orc tended to a fire in a simple stone hearth. She was in a…bed? She tried to raise her head to see, but a sharp pain shot through her temples and caused her to recoil and wince.

“Here,” he extended a cup to her. She carefully raised her head again, letting her lips brush against the rim of the cup. It was cold water mixed with something sharp and bitter. When she finished, she returned to cup to him and her hand brushed against his. She quickly withdrew her hand, as if singed. If he had noticed her reaction, he gave her no indication. 

It was then that she noticed her clothing had been changed. She flushed in embarrassment and self-consciousness. She was wearing a large, coarse tunic. Several fur pelts covered her. The sheets seemed worn, but the unmistakable odor of soap wafted up to her nose as she huddled deeper into the bed. She curled even farther into a tight ball when she saw him get up, off the floor, and stand over her. He was a large orc dressed in black she noticed, her eyes lingering on the muscular shape looming over her. She was assailed by a paralyzing fear.

What if he expected her to express her gratitude…? Her mind began racing, flashes of Newlin’s crude forcefulness returning to her.

“You can stay here until you feel strong enough,” he interrupted her thoughts before he turned around and left the cabin, slamming the door shut behind him.

Svanna blinked nervously a few times until she was certain he wasn’t coming back. The fire crackled comfortingly and she noted that he had left her another full cup on a small bench by the bed. Garlands of dry herbs hung from the cabin’s rafters. She closed her eyes, pushing away all the worries and questions trying to seize her thoughts and gave in to a heavy, numbing sleep.

* * *

Rokal awoke with a start when the door of his cabin burst open. He squinted in confusion as the orc stepped into the room. Without uttering a word and casting him a resentful glance, Urguz tossed a narrow mat on the floor before the hearth, and unceremoniously pulled one of the blankets off Rokal’s bed.

“What do ya tink ya be doin’?” the troll protested.

“I am sleeping here tonight.”

Rokal snorted before turning his back to the orc.

“Serves ya right.”

“I can smell the fear on her,” he stated. 

Rokal pressed his lips tightly.

“Can ya blame her, mon? She was bein' trafficked as a slave. Who be knowin’ what she been through?”

The orc lay over the small mat, folding his arms behind his head. He and Urguz had been through so much together: ever since their childhoods. The only constant had been the fierce loyalty and friendship between the two.

“She looks at me—as if I were going to butcher her.”

Rokal shrugged sympathetically. 

“ _Humans_ ,” Urguz concluded.

“Ya can’t blame her for bein’ afraid.”

“Hm,” Urguz grunted, turning toward the hearth.

“And she did do sometin’ none of da others we helped during our raids did before.” He closed his eyes, remembering the pale, delicate figure peering at them with those large, expressive eyes. “She be thankin’ us.”


	2. Beginnings

Svanna awoke with a firm shake to her shoulder. She mumbled sleepily, trying to roll over. Another brusque shake forced her to open her eyes.

The orc was standing by the bed, his masculine face staring down at her impassively. His eyes were light, she noticed: a shade of jade green. His hair was long, sleek and night-black, spilling down over his shoulders. 

“Wake up.”

“I’m awake.” She eyed him with mild irritation.

“Drink.” He thrust a cup at her. “You need to keep drinking,” he told her. Cold air drifted in from one of the open windows,the shutters fastened against the wall. Outside, a grayish morning greeted them, the sunlight’s gleam pale and its warmth ineffectual at the time of the year. 

She sat up in the bed and took the cup. 

“What is in this?” She grimaced slightly, after a few sips.

“Water. Some herbs.” He tossed a larger log into the waning fire. Smoke and fading sparks floated into the room.”Rokal said it will rehydrate you.”

 _Ah_ , Svanna thought, gulping down another sip of the drink, _the troll is called Rokal._

“What’s your name?” she ventured.

“Urguz.”

“I thought your kind hated humans,” she blurted out.

“Hm.”

She noticed he wore an unbleached tunic just like hers. She tugged lightly at the front, running her hand over it. A blush prickled her cheeks.

“Who undressed me last night?”

He crossed his arms.

“Who do you think?”

She remained silent, watching him.

“The priestesses of Elune,” he teased. “I did. Your clothes were torn and filthy.”

She continued to eye him suspiciously and he simply turned away, occupying himself with gathering a large container of rock salt from one of the provisioning shelves. 

“When can I leave this place?” It was as if she was testing him.

“Whenever you please.” She was being ungrateful. 

“Why did you bring me here?”

“Why do you think?” he asked sharply.

“Your kind—” she began.

“My kind did not _enslave_ you,” he reminded her curtly. 

“What will this cost me?” she challenged him.

He smirked and leaned in closer to her. He did not fail to notice how she withered and recoiled from him. 

“All we want is for you to get better and then get the fel out of here,” he completed, turning away, the container of salt in his hands. Her eyes trailed after him right before he halted at the doorway and turned around to face her again. “And another thing: perhaps humans don’t understand ‘context’,” he provoked. “But we orcs do. I was a soldier once and in our armies, both male and female orcs fight alongside each other. We view each other as equals and our warriors will not lose control and behave irrationally at the sight of bare skin… especially when the owner of that skin is in pain and unconscious. When I undressed you, it was to offer you aid. Nothing else. So, rest easy, human. You are in no danger here, regardless of the tales you have probably heard about ‘my kind.’” 

She remained in the bed looking at the door he'd just slammed on his way out. 

She hadn't suspected the humans who'd ended up enslaving her at first. And now she was inclined to treat the ones who'd saved her with such mistrust and contempt, she chided herself.

Svanna looked down at the ground in shame.

* * *

When he slammed the door, he found that he was in a horrid mood.

“Here’s your damned salt,” he growled at the surprised troll as he handed him the container. “I’m going into town. I’ll be back after dark.”

“Eeeh,” Rokal murmured quietly, taking the container and placing it next to the bowl of brine he was preparing.

* * *

It was midday when Svanna decided to leave the cabin and venture outside. She did not know what to expect. Was she in a Horde village? No… It was too quiet. In the woods? She adjusted the tunic and slipped her feet into her worn shoes. She tugged one of the blankets off the bed and draped it around herself. 

Outside some snow swirled, dancing in whorls of wind overhead. She pulled the blanket tighter around her shoulders and wandered to the fire pit between both cabins. A small pot filled with a greenish solution sat to the side. Another cauldron, this one large, sat over the fire.

“Ya be hungry?” 

She startled and noticed the troll stepping out of his cottage, a small cheesecloth bundle in his large hands. Svanna stepped back and stood in the cabin’s threshold, ready to race back and bolt herself inside if need be.

“It depends,” she finally replied, mustering some courage. 

He peered up at her distractedly.

“Depends on what?” 

“What is going into that cauldron?” 

There was a well-known childhood rhyme about trolls back home and it now had come back to her.

_“In the wooded land_   
_Found by the sea_   
_Is the mighty troll_   
_With fingers three_   
_If you linger and are caught_   
_Never lament we warned you not:_   
_For lads and lasses, rounder or thinner,_   
_Are always wanted as the mighty troll’s dinner.”_

The troll stopped his activity to examine her.

“What did ya be thinkin’ be goin' in da cauldron?”

Now, that whole scenario was amusing. He was quite sure the human was thinking ridiculous thoughts. She really was clueless, he decided. Maybe he should have some fun with her...

She did not answer but the look she was giving him was withering.

“Why, it be waitin’ for YA, of course! Ya be da missin’ ingredient!” he announced gleefully, rubbing his hands together. 

Her expression of pure alarm delighted him for a few seconds as he chuckled. 

“Lissen—what be ya name?”

“I think we’re done here,” she stated in a low voice, starting to retreat into the cabin. 

“Nooo, if ya don’t tell me ya name, how am I supposed to be writin’ da menu, woman?” 

She narrowed her eyes at him. He chuckled some more and ran his fingers through the shock of deep blue hair standing up on his head. He continued working on his brine, raising his eyes every once in a while. He let out a heaving sigh and put down the small cauldron.

_Yah. Urguz and I be dealin’ with tings in a different way. He be gettin’ offended… And I prefer to be messin’ with her. But I should be takin’ my own advice._

_She been through a lot._

“I have some fresh bread and cheese. Ya be wantin’ some?” he asked, avoiding her glare.

She appeared to relent. When he did glance back at her, she nodded her head.

* * *

“Svanna,” she told him, between mouthfuls of fluffy bread topped with a thick slab of cheese.

Rokal leaned against the cabin. She had eaten two large slices of bread and showed no signs of slowing down. He took another slice, topped it with some cheese, and began to toast it over the fire. She slowed down her chewing to watch. He moved the bread over the fire until the cheese began to melt. 

“Here.” He offered her toasted slice with melted cheese. “Careful—it be hot.” She took it from his hands gratefully and he tried to disguise his staring. She had been starving. Now that he had a chance to examine her more closely, he could see the bruises on her forearms and calves. Her wrist bones jutted out unnaturally just above the shackles and thanks to the oversized neck hole of Urguz’s tunic, he could glimpse her pronounced collar bones. Even her face appeared emaciated. She might have had a difficult life before being captured, he concluded. He reached in his coat for his cheroot and lit it over the campfire, puffing until a brilliant orange glow consumed the tip, releasing a spiral of fragrant smoke. 

“Svanna,” he repeated. “How is it that ya ended up with da slavers runnin’ ya through Winterspring?”

“Mmph,” she wiped her mouth with the back of her hand as she attempted to reply. “That’s a bad story:I trusted someone I shouldn’t have.”

“That’s how it usually goes.” He stared up at the sky exhaling a smoke cloud. 

“It seemed like a good idea at the time. But then again, any idea then seemed like a good one. I was pretty desperate.”

“Oh? Why is that?”

She sighed, tearing a bit of bread and popping it in her mouth.

“I was just in a strange situation. I had nowhere to go. You see, all my life I worked for this couple. They were elderly... Well, they weren’t _so_ elderly when I was born, but they became elderly over the years.” She paused when she saw Rokal tilt his head in slight confusion. “My mother was hired by them as a housekeeper when she moved to Stormwind. When I was around four or five, she sent for me because they allowed me to live with her. I grew up in their house- learning how to help my mother. My mother died about two years ago and the couple kept me on. So, I worked for them and all was well until a month ago. The lady of the house died and since the lord was quite aged, he went sent to live with one of his daughters. I thought the family would hire me and let me stay on, but they told me they had no need for me any further.” She fell silent and Rokal didn’t push. “Not only was I jobless, I also had to leave the only home I’d known.”

"But what about ya family? Ya father?” he asked, blowing another puff of smoke to the side.

“Oh. My mother said he died before I was born. And she was no longer on speaking terms with her family when I came along. I wouldn’t even know _where_ to start looking. All she told me is that she had paid a woman in Elwynn to look after me while she started working in Stormwind.”

Rokal took a hard drag of his cheroot, his eyes narrowing. What a sad and sorry situation.

“So, anyway, I started looking for a new position for several weeks, but I couldn’t find anything: all the live-in positions required older, more experienced servants. I needed a live-in situation because I couldn’t afford to pay for my own lodgings in Stormwind. I was getting pretty desperate by then because I had to be out of the house before the week was up and I had nowhere to go. I was in a panic. I was coming out of the Cathedral of Light the day before I had to vacate the house and an older man in outside struck up conversation with me. He said I looked lost and that he liked to help folk like myself. He seemed genuinely kind and concerned about me and I ended up confiding in him about my problems. He told me not to worry and said, ‘I know someone who might get you a job.’”

Rokal sucked his teeth contemptuously as he tapped ashes off the tip of his cheroot. He knew the type she was describing very well. Cowards. Every one of them. But how naive was Svanna? He’d understand if she’d been raised in some backwater, but she had grown up in the Alliance’s capital city. How sheltered had she been not to have developed any street smarts?

“And ya didn’t suspect anytin’?” he wondered.

“I was about to become homeless. I couldn’t imagine much worse happening to me. And this man…I thought he was an answer to my prayers!”

“Then what?” he encouraged her. 

“He took me to see a woman. She had a vendor's stall in the Old City. She told me I was in luck.” Rokal huffed loudly at that. “And that there was a caravan leaving Stormwind that night, bringing workers from Stormwind to various Alliance and neutral settlements in Kalimdor. She asked me if I was all right leaving the Eastern Kingdoms…and I said I was: I told them I had no family, no friends… Nothing and no one to leave behind.”

Now Rokal was shaking his head. She’d been the perfect mark.

“Woman, don’t ya know there be no big Alliance cities in these parts of Azeroth anymore? This be mostly Horde territory.”

Svanna sheepishly bit off another hunk of toasted bread.

“Did she promise ya a much higher salary?”

She nodded.

He nodded back at her.

“Yah…And I be bettin’ she say ya future employers would pay for da trip and that they needed to take ya papers to make da travel arrangements.”

She nodded again, slower this time, her head drooping slightly. He imagined she was probably ashamed she had been duped so easily.

“When did tings start going wrong?” Rokal asked, determined to listen to that entire shitty, familiar story.

“Well, during our trip to Kalimdor, some of us began to ask the caravan leader about our assignments. We wanted to know where we were going. The leader kept telling us we would find out once we arrived, then it became 'once we reach a certain camp', that arrangements were fluid and still being finalized. So we waited. But once we got to the port in Ratchet, we were introduced to a group of men and women we were told were going to keep us safe until we crossed enemy territory. I remember thinking maybe I should try to run away while we were still in Ratchet, but by then it was too late. The night we began to travel through the Barrens with our guides, they turned on us and shackled all of us. I could kick myself now for not trusting my gut feeling. I didn’t want to believe anyone would be capable of doing something like that.”

“Well, it would be hard gettin' out of Ratchet when they be havin’ ya papers, too,” Rokal reminded her. She raked a light layer of snow on the ground with her fingertip. 

“And I never retrieved them.” She raised her eyes to him. “Did you happen to…?”

He shook his head. He and Urguz had never bothered with any papers and documents they found. Sometimes they rifled through papers looking for any orders that might provide them with information about future operations, but other than that, everything without obvious value was tossed into the fire or abandoned.

“Never thought of it.” He wiped his hands over his trousers, before tossing his cheroot on the ground and putting it out with the ball of his foot. “Sorry,” he added. 

She shook her head. “It is not like I needed it to secure my stellar future, anyway.” _It's not like I am anybody._

“What do ya tink ya want to do once you leave here?” he wondered in a gentler tone.

“I’m not even sure where _here_ is,” she admitted.

“Ya be in Winterspring. Not too far away from da neutral city of Everlook.” He checked his brine, dipping his finger in the greenish solution, and bringing it to his lips. He noticed Svanna was watching him carefully. “Everlook be run by da Steamwheedle Cartel, so it be welcomin’ Horde and Alliance.” 

“Steamwheedle?” she repeated, uncertain.

 _Mon, this woman be more lost_ _than Mankrik's wife_ , he realized. He took a little bit of bread and dipped it in the brine. It was tart and salty and swimming in spices—just as he liked it. He took another bite, obviously savoring the flavor when he noticed Svanna’s gaze alternating between him and the brine. He wordlessly tore off another small piece and soaked it with the brine before offering it to her between his pinched fingers.

To his surprise, she reached for it from his fingers with her mouth, her lips lightly brushing his fingertips. It happened very quickly and innocently, but the sensation of her warm lips on his skin, against his fingertips, sent a suggestive jolt of unexpected pleasure through him. He pulled his hand away, trying to give her the impression nothing had passed between them. She chewed hungrily, oblivious to his brief turmoil.

“It’s too salty,” she concluded.

He chuckled.

“That’s because it be a _brine_. I take it ya didn’t cook for ya employers?”

She licked her lips and he averted his gaze.

 _She be a human_ , he reminded himself harshly. 

“I did. But it was simple fare. Nothing too fancy. They were elderly and preferred blander fare: boiled foods.”

He nodded before turning away from her.

“Well. Help yasself to da bread.” He began to head toward his cabin. “Just don’t drink all da brine,” he teased, winking at her.

“I won’t! I didn’t like it,” she retorted, a defiantly playful edge in her voice. 

He waved his hand as if shooing her away before closing the door behind him.

* * *

He stood at his cabin’s entrance, in the faint glow of his hearth. As he peered down at himself, he noticed she had succeeded in arousing him with just a brush of her lips. 

“Ah, fuck me,” he murmured softly, ruffling his own hair as if trying to cleanse his mind of the suggestive thoughts she’d sparked in him. “I been holed up here for too long, when a clueless human woman can have such an effect on me.”


	3. The Guest

Urguz emerged in their encampment late in the evening. He carried a pair of sacks filled with supplies he’d purchased at Everlook. He was tired and eager to rest. While in town, the Steamwheedle Cartel offered him another contract. This time it was to interfere with poachers. Moonglade had tipped off the Cartel of their whereabouts.

“The druids don’t like folks going after the animals here for any reason other than feeding their families or in self-defense,” his contact, a goblin named Zee Fizzblox, confided. “Boss told them we’d take care of it. We’d rather not stir up any shit with Moonglade, you know.”

“Big game hunters?” Urguz had wondered, over a tankard of ale.

“Yep.” 

Urguz nodded. 

“We’ll look into it.”

“Good.” The goblin surveyed the tavern where they were meeting. “There’s good gold from both the Cartel and the druids this time. Plus, you can keep anything you find when you raid them.”

“I should hope so: since we’re doing all the dirty work,” Urguz grinned tartly. The goblin grinned back, pointy-toothed. ”Anyway, I need to get going. Have to pick up some supplies before heading back.”

* * *

The orcess at the small shop he’d ventured into was puzzled. And it was his fault, too.

“This is too big.” He placed the leggings back on the counter. 

“What size is she? My size? Bigger?” the orcess wondered, stepping out from behind the counter. He had said he needed to buy clothing for woman. He just hadn’t specified ‘human’ woman. 

Nor would he.

“Smaller. Much smaller. It’s for my niece,” he lied. “She is not a cub anymore, but she is definitely not fully grown. She’s this tall.” He indicated with his hand. The orcess grunted gruffly before sorting through a few shelves positioned closer to the ground. “Let me see what we have…”

He ended up leaving the shop with a couple pairs of warm stockings, two long-sleeved shirts, a heavy wool sweater, a long skirt and a pair of trousers— both lighter weaves, but warm, easily the costliest items— and some more delicate items: two breast bands and several pairs of undergarments. He doubted anything would fit properly, but it would be far more comfortable for her than just wearing his oversized tunic. He also bought her a hairbrush, a brick of scented soap, and a few smaller items for personal use. One of the sacks was practically filled with his purchases for the human. 

“Why am I bothering with this?” he sighed to himself as he packed the other sack with a few sundries.

* * *

Rokal’s cabin was still lit, something Urguz was relieved to see once he emerged into their homestead, since it was likely he would be crashing on his friend’s floor again. His own cabin was also lit, despite the dark hour, and he debated stopping by so late. He ended up knocking on the door, his desire to reassure the woman and see her receive the new items overruling any caution over frightening her further. When the door creaked open, he found her standing before him in a blanket tightly wound around her frail body. He couldn’t help thinking how unnaturally light she’d felt, when he’d carried her up the trail. Her body was all sharp, bony angles. 

“I brought you a few things,” he announced.

She stepped aside and he walked in, immediately handing her the packages he drew forth from one of the sacks.

“What’s this?” she puzzled.

“Some clothing,” he explained. “Your clothes…they are not in good condition. And it’s cold here and—”

“And you probably want your tunic back,” she said gently. She glanced at the simply wrapped parcels in her arms. “Thank you. It was very kind and thoughtful of you.” He held her stare for a long moment. Her expression was very different from that morning’s: she was more at ease. There was a warmth in her eyes, as well, he thought. Just as he had the thought, the docile look faded. “I have no way of repaying you! I don’t have any money. Any savings I had are long gone,” she lamented.

“Don’t worry about it,” he quickly reassured her. “It really isn’t that much.

A shy smile emerged on her lips.

“Thank you,” she repeated. 

He nodded briefly and turned away, ready to head to Rokal’s cabin.

“I’m not afraid of you,” she called out softly. “I’m sorry if I was rude to you earlier.”

“It’s all right—I understand."

She followed him to the door. Before he could head out, though, she quickly extended her hand.

“Svanna.” She held her hand out expectantly.

“Urguz." He took her hand in his large one.

Her hand was delicate, warm, and small in his large, crushing hand, but she did not flinch and shook it with a vigorous determination.

* * *

“Her name be Svanna,” Rokal mumbled from under his covers as Urguz wandered in, letting in a gust of cold air.

Urguz paused. So she and Rokal had talked?

“I know. She just told me.”

“Ah. Ya be friends now. How nice,” he teased. “Close da door, mon!”

“I got her a few things at Everlook.” Urguz shut the door and tossed a bedroll over the ground. He could hear the troll sniggering. “What?”

“ Ah. Dis bring back memories. Is this gonna be da tiger raptor all over again?”

Urguz grinned at the memory: he, wandering in from the deserted plains with Rokal in tow, both of them just young whelps. They’d come across a tiger raptor pup stuck in bramble, and Urguz hadn’t been able to resist: he’d carried the creature home after freeing it and luring it with berries and fresh water. Rokal had tried to dissuade him, but Urguz had been determined to care for the pup. When he stepped into his house, his father became furious. He dragged Urguz back into the plains, yelling the whole time about respecting nature, and how the creature’s mother would be enraged and anxious over losing her pup, and asking him whether he had rocks for brains because WHO brings home a feral tiger raptor pup? He remembered releasing the pup near a vernal pool. The pup had glanced at him with heartbreaking curiosity before scurrying off, lured by the growl of a much bigger raptor, its herd likely not too far off.

“If it is, are you going to cry like you did then?” Urguz teased Rokal.

For all his cautioning and trying to dissuade him, it was Rokal who’d sobbed the hardest when the pup ran back to its mother.

Rokal smirked before rolling onto his back and folding his arms behind his head.

“She be no pup, but she be a bit of a lost one, this human.”

Urguz hung his coat behind the door.

“How’s that?”

“She be tellin’ me a bit about how she ended up here. She was a servant in Stormwind until recently. Got talked into workin’ in Kalimdor when she lost her job. Then it was da usual crap these slavers pull: they took her papers—”

Urguz winced. That would be a headache for her.

“I bet she can go to Everlook and some Alliance folk can try to help her.”

“Not our problem.”

“Yeah.” Urguz stretched over his bedroll.

“Da humans caused this problem, they can fix it!” Rokal declared.

“Yep,” Urguz agreed.

“When she be ready, she can go.”

Urguz sighed.

“Like, when she be stronger. She does not look well, don’t ya tink?” Rokal confided. 

Urguz scrunched his nose in amusement.

“What are you saying?” Urguz turned to face his old friend.

“Just that. There be no rush. She can stay here until she be well.”

Urguz grinned.

“All right. That’s okay with me, too. Whenever she’s ready, she can leave. Before that, she can stay with us.”

“Because we not be savage like humans. They like to say we are da ‘uncivilized’ ones.”

Urguz turned toward the fire, still grinning at Rokal’s unsurprising change of mind. Rokal tried not to show it, but he was just as tenderhearted. 

“Maybe when she returns, she be tellin’ da Alliance that da Horde isn’t so bad.”

* * *

Days became weeks. 

Svanna was slowly getting to know her new friends. Unlike everyone she had ever met before, they spoke to her as if she were an equal. They didn’t look down on her and for the first time in her life, she was encouraged to make choices and give her opinion. After the fourth day, Urguz had told her that whenever she wanted, he would take her down to Everlook so she could lodge a petition with the Alliance representatives there to draft her new identity papers.

“It might take a little while for them to get the information from Stormwind,” he explained. “And if they can’t put you up somewhere in town, don’t you think about it: you can stay here,” he assured her.

Rokal echoed the same sentiment to her. 

“Take ya time,” he advised her. “Stay here until ya feel better and then ya can decide what ya wanna do. Have a fresh start.” 

Rokal was always feeding her and she had to say she didn’t mind. Never in her life had she eaten so much and so well.

“Why are you both being so nice to me? I’ve done nothing to deserve this” she asked him one day, when she was feeling particularly low.

“Mm? Because I be needin’ to fatten ya up for da stew,” he stated gamely, handing her a bowl of meat stew filled with fragrant herbs and greens. Rokal was a fantastic cook and something of a joker. It was easy talking to him. She often kept him company as he prepared their meals, sometimes helping him, their conversations often becoming lessons on how to fillet a fish or prepare a marinade. He was a good listener and she found herself often chuckling at his irreverent comments about…everything. He was unflappable, she found, and despite his irreverent attitude, very caring.

“I’m just a burden,” she complained faintly, stoking the fire. She had peered furtively at Rokal, her mind in a confused fog of true apprehension, self-pity, and the need to be told that she wasn’t. He paid her comment little heed. 

“We don’t be likin’ slavers. And ya need help. It be what decent people be doin’, right?” he stated matter-of-factly. “Besides, ya gonna be very helpful, washin’ all these pots for me in a minute,” he indicated them, crusted with fat and grime. Her eyes widened with indignation.

“What?” she cried out feigning distress.

“Make yourself useful…if ya wanna eat, yah?” He grinned, waving another bowl filled with freshly sauteed potatoes and onions under her nose. They smelled divine and she pretended to grab one of the dirty pans grudgingly. 

“You are working me too hard!” she protested, not disguising her grin.

“M-hm,” he continued distractedly. “And don’t forget that other pot, too. Quick, quick,” he teased.”Before da food gets cold…” 

Urguz was different from Rokal. He was more serious.But he was kind and considerate. He had practically given up his own cottage so she could remain there comfortably, despite her many protests. He was intense, she thought, but at the same time reassuring. She felt peaceful and safe in his presence. He was less nosy about her personal life than Rokal, so they ended up talking about Orgrimmar and Stormwind, the books they liked and even though the time she spent in his company was definitely less raucous than with Rokal, she always felt a sharp pang of disappointment when he left her presence. 

_How fortunate that I haven't only found one dear friend, but two!_ she concluded.


	4. An Unwanted Trip

During the course of three months, Rokal noted with satisfaction, Svanna had recovered-- and recovered beautifully--under their care. He looked on with pride at his efforts: she was no longer painfully thin. Her face no longer appeared emaciated or her eyes dull. She had filled out more during her time with them, going from sharp and angular to softer and curvier. Sometimes he found his gaze trailing after her, whenever she was walking off, watching her gently rounded hips, her fuller bottom. If he were completely honest, he’d have to admit he liked looking at her: she was lovely.

 _For a human_ , he’d always amend quickly.

And it gave him pleasure to think that he and Urguz had helped nurse her back to health. 

Both he and Urguz had been avoiding the inevitable, he knew, in not discussing when they would take Svanna to Everlook. They had made her half-hearted offers, assuring her that they would take her into the town whenever she wanted, but they never pursued the issue too much and she certainly never took them up on it. They had fallen into a pleasant little domesticity. When they went on their missions, Svanna would stay back, offering to help with various tasks while they were gone. Rokal had to admit that it was terribly nice to return home to find a warm fire in the hearth burning, and the food he had left behind for her to prepare for them ready to eat. And she showed her appreciation and gratitude in different ways, too: she left them fresh pitchers of water and even small vases of mountain flowers in his cottage. Urguz had practically moved into his cabin, staking his territory out in front of the hearth. 

One night their raid had run longer than expected. It had been a larger operation they’d teamed up with the bruisers to investigate: a ring of smugglers. Urguz had told Svanna that they would return the following day by nightfall, but the mission had taken much longer. He remembered exchanging worried glances with Urguz when they had ventured out to their stakeout in the afternoon of the day they were expected back. 

“Think we can make it back in time?” Rokal had whispered.

“Only if these fucking smugglers hurry up,” Urguz grumbled. “We told Svanna we’d be back. I wish there was a way to let her know.”

Rokal had sighed.

“She’s gonna be so worried,” he lamented. 

When they finally had returned, they’d found their human guest in disarray. She had been crying, they could see, and when they finally emerged, she had run up to both of them, flinging her arms around them in a completely candid expression of relief.

“Thank the Light,” she repeated over and over again, standing between them, her arms draped over their shoulders. 

Rokal had remained still for a moment and then wriggled himself free, patting her affectionately on the back.

“It be OK, Svanna. We just be gettin’ a bit delayed. No need to worry,” he told her cheerfully, his heart touched by her concern.

Urguz did not move, though, and instead, braced an arm around her, holding her against him as she buried her tearful face in his chest. He caressed her long hair soothingly.

“I was so scared something had happened to the two of you!” she uttered in a tearful voice.

“Ssh, Svanna. Everything is all right. We’re here now.” His voice was low and his tone was tender.

Rokal watched, a strange emotion overcoming him…Was it… _jealousy?_ He couldn’t shake off the sting; he was witnessing something very intimate between the two of them…Something he was not a part of… _and wanted very much to be?_

Rokal shook his head quietly. 

This was about to get complicated, he realized. He needed to talk to Urguz. They had delayed the inevitable long enough.

* * *

“Listen, we can’t be doin' this to her,” he began. “She needs to be goin’ back to her own people.”

Urguz huffed from his bedroll, his back turned to him.

“Her own people sold her into slavery.”

“So what do ya be proposin’? That she just stay here? A young human woman livin' with an orc and a troll-for-hire? What kind of life be that?”

Urguz grumbled something under his breath.

“Ya be knowin’ I’m right!” Rokal complained.

“Yes, yes!” his friend protested in annoyance. “I…I just like having her here. I don’t know why, but…I feel…She’s so naive, so vulnerable…”

“I know,” the troll admitted, staring at the ceiling of his cottage, the orange glow of the heart casting long shadows around the room. “I be worryin' about her terribly.”

“It’s nice, isn’t it?” Urguz continued. “Having her here? We can take care of her. Protect her. For as long as she wants.”

It _was_ nice, Rokal wanted to admit. But there was no guarantee that it would remain so.

“I’m gonna be missin’ her so much, too,” he stated quietly. “But ya know what da right thing to do be, Urguz.”

A heavy silence hung between them for a long while.

“Yeah,” Urguz finally said. “I do.”

“So when do ya want to be goin’ to Everlook?” Rokal asked sadly. 

“Let’s get it over quickly.” His tone was stern. “Tomorrow.”

* * *

“Let’s just see what they be sayin’ about this whole paperwork process!” Rokal had suggested as cheerfully as possible. Both Urguz and Svanna looked miserable. “Besides, ya never be seein’ Everlook! Ya might like it!” 

Their hike down the mountain had been a quiet one, all of them mindful of the snow on the path. The sun was shining and sparkling off the multitude of icicles dangling from the trees. It was much colder outside than at their campsite, where Rokal’s concealment spell had provided them with a bit of shelter from the elements. Urguz was glad that he had bought Svanna a heavy, warm coat, he thought, watching her negotiate her steps down the trail. His heart felt heavy, though, once they began to take the main road to Everlook. No, she wouldn’t be leaving that same day, but they would probably be getting the dreaded departure date after meeting with the Alliance representatives. The thought made him feel gloomy.

A similar thought was crossing Rokal’s mind. He knew that soon after that visit to Everlook, there would be a countdown of sorts. No more laughter and joking during his meal preps, he thought wistfully. He’d miss their silly banter, her sweet laughter, her indignant expressions. He’d thought he and Urguz were quite happy before her arrival, that they needed very little. They had a demanding job, but it came with plenty of downtime and good pay. If they got bored or had cabin fever, they could go to Everlook. He’d never expected that human woman to become a part of that existence.

Svanna walked between both men, her head downcast, looking as if she were being extra mindful of her steps through the snow. The time she had spent with both the orc and the troll had been one of the best since her mother had passed away. How was it that the two, so different from herself, members of the Horde, even, were capable of making her feel so at home, accepted, and important? She squeezed her eyes shut, trying to hold back tears. 

She didn’t want to leave. There was nothing for her back at Stormwind. No one. No friends. No work. She had nowhere to live, no one to turn to. And she knew her mother hadn’t meant for it to be so, but the life she’d led until then had been a sheltered one that hadn’t prepared her for much. Who would be as solicitous as Urguz? Urguz, who did everything to make her feel comfortable and safe? He had gotten her that warm coat that sheltered her from the wind. She wasn’t used to being fussed over. He made her feel like she was…precious. She risked a glance, raising her eyes and finding Urguz further ahead, his body turned toward her, waiting for her and Rokal, further behind. Yes, he was very different from her and at first she was terrified of him. But after a few days, she had come to appreciate him. As she approached, he slowly turned forward and continued to forge ahead through the freshly fallen snow. She didn’t avert her gaze, though. His differences, she thought, only made him more interesting: the sleek black hair, the pale green skin, the strong, broad shoulders…

Her stomach did a small flutter and she focused again on the snow directly in front of her. 

“How ya doin’, girlie?” she heard the playful voice behind her. A smile immediately crossed her lips.

“Are we there yet?” she teased. She had asked him the annoying question every few minutes when they first started their trek.

He chuckled and after a brief silence, sighed.

“Yah. We be gettin’ close now.”

 _And who would cheer her up and make her laugh like Rokal?_ she wondered despondently. He fussed over her too, but in a different way than Urguz. She had noticed how he observed her while she ate, always filling her bowl, making sure she was satisfied. Sometimes he would sit with her even though he wasn’t eating, and they would talk and talk… Here she was, possibly the most uninteresting person in Azeroth, whose only exciting adventure had been to be captured by slavers, and yet Rokal was always interested in her: her stories, her life, her thoughts… And even though he was even more foreign in appearance than Urguz, everything about him, from his deep green eyes, his dark blue hair, the wiry and muscular arms…everything about him had become so dear to her.

 _What ever is to become of me?_ she fretted. 

She wished she could stay. She wished she could remain just like that. With her two best friends.

* * *

“Wait outside,” the Alliance soldier said to Urguz and Rokal curtly. 

“Why? We just be tryin’ to help her!” Rokal protested as his entrance to the building was barred. A couple of the goblin bruisers watched the commotion carefully, ready to spring into action. Urguz wondered how often that happened. 

“We can take it from here, son,” an older man stated in what Urguz thought was a rather condescending manner. He could see Rokal stiffen at the “son” and he quickly placed a hand on his friend’s arm.

“Come on.”

Svanna hesitated, even as she was being escorted in.

“Don’t sign anything,” Rokal called out resentfully.

The soldier at the entrance scoffed at him.

“What are you worried about? She’s safe now.”

Rokal was about to ask him what he meant when Urguz quickly stepped in between them.

“She might be a while. Let’s go get something to drink.”

“ _E’chuta_ ,” Rokal muttered, casting the soldier a glare. 

“Come.” Urguz steered him out of the courtyard toward the square.

* * *

She returned after an hour, looking peeved. They had told her where to meet up with them, certain that the Alliance soldiers wouldn’t tolerate their presence in front of their headquarters in Everlook. The tavern was run by the Steamwheedle Cartel and goblins staffed all the positions. Both Alliance and Horde mingled inside, even if each faction kept to its own side of the tavern. While they waited, they took turns running small errands, neither one of them feeling like saying much. 

“How did it go?” Urguz rose from his chair, offering her his seat as she made her way to their table. 

“It’s ok.” She gestured shyly, indicating she didn’t want to take his seat, but he had already walked over to another table to fetch himself a chair. “Oh, thank you.” She plopped herself down.

“Well?”

“The papers should take three weeks,” she told him flatly. “And they want two gold, three silver for them, once they arrive.” 

Rokal’s brow furrowed. 

“For paper?” He quickly recovered. “We’ll cover ya, ok?” He took a sip of ale from his tankard. “And are they going to help you get back to Stormwind?”

Urguz dragged his chair over. She shook her head, eyes downcast.

“They said they are only equipped to help with the bureaucracy. They said getting a ticket home is my problem.”

Rokal frowned, sucking one of teeth. _Way to treat victims of crimes perpetrated by your own faction_ , he thought crossly, thinking of the stupid, pretentious Alliance with its sanctimonious attitudes while never practicing what it preached. 

“We can buy you a ticket,” Urguz told her. “Don’t worry about it.”

“That’s too kind.” She shook her head sadly. 

“So, that’s all they’re gonna be doin’ for ya? Getting ya da travel papers?”

She shrugged.

“Ya did tell them what happened to ya, right? That ya be da victim of a crime?”

She raised her head and glanced toward the bar. The place was gradually filling up as the afternoon wore on.

“I did. And when I told them the slavers had been killed during my rescue, they told me I should be relieved that there was nothing to worry about now.”

Urguz and Rokal exchanged baffled glances.

 _Da fuck_ , Rokal thought angrily. _Yah, we be doin’ their job, good-for-nothin’ bastards._ Would they even have cared, if they had seen her condition when he and Urguz had found her? 

“I’m going to get some tea,” she announced, pushing away from the table. As soon as she wandered out of earshot, Rokal leaned forward.

“They aren’t gonna do shit for her!”

“I know,” Urguz continued, tense. “We are going to send her on a one-way trip to Stormwind… for what? She has nobody there! And apparently, her own people don’t care!”

“I don’t get da humans,” Rokal grumbled, crossing his arms over his chest. “She would never be this alone if she were a troll. There would be relatives, neighbors, friends…”

“Just like orcs…everyone is a cousin, a grandmama, or auntie. There is always room for one more at the table. These people have no solidarity with each other.”

“Why we fightin’ a war against them, again? Just leave them alone and they will be doin’ da work themselves!”

He noticed Urguz had become distracted by something at the bar. Rokal turned his attention to where Svanna was standing. A human man, likely a merchant, based on his clothes, was trying to get her attention. 

“What’s a pretty girl like yourself doing here?”

She ignored him.

“Can my buddy and I buy you a drink?”

“No thanks,” she said sharply. “I’d like some tea, please,” she asked the barkeep. The man leaned closer. He was obviously intoxicated.

“Why don’t you come sit with us?” he pointed at a table toward the back of the tavern where a robust bearded man raised his tankard at her with a toothy grin.

“No thanks.” She stared ahead.

“Aww… Come on! We’d love to get to know you,” he insisted.

“I can’t.”

“Sure you can! What’s your name?” the inconvenient man continued.

Svanna took the mug the goblin deposited before her. 

“One copper,” the goblin told her. Svanna began to pat her pocket when the man quickly slipped the coin over the bar top.

“I got it.” He winked. 

“That’s not necessary.”

“Now you’re in my debt,” he sang, leaning toward her. “Come: you can pay me back by sitting with me and my friend while you enjoy your tea.” 

As Svanna did not acknowledge him, he grabbed her by the wrist. 

Urguz stood and rushed toward the bar. Rokal focused on the other man leering at Svanna and signaling to his buddy. His eyes narrowed. Did those fools know nothing about respecting others?

_We be teachin’ ya some manners…_

* * *

Svanna’s mind blanked when she took a whiff of the man’s sour odor. He stank of cheap booze and…rancid cheese, she thought, her mind flashing back to Newlin, seizing her wrist chains and dragging her behind the rocks. She let out a faint cry when the man yanked her by the wrist toward his table. But before she could react and try to escape his grasp, a large shape positioned itself between them, and before she knew it, the man had been hoisted up and pushed against the wall.

“What the fel!” the man cried out.

The barkeep swiftly ran toward the tavern entrance.

“I’m not even human and I understand the meaning of ‘no’,” Urguz growled. 

Svanna rubbed her wrist, stepping back. 

“What’s your problem?” the man cried. His feet sought purchase against the wall. He was realizing the deep shit he’d gotten himself into as the orc snarled at him. “Look, she and I were just talking, ok? That’s all!”

As his buddy attempted to run to his aid, Rokal rose and blocked his way, standing at his full intimidating height.

“That is a lie. Stay away from her.”

The man’s eyes darted to his buddy and then back to Svanna, who stood back, petrified. A sudden flash of understanding crossed his eyes.

“Are you with him?” he asked incredulously, seeking Svanna’s gaze.

An armored bruiser stuck his head into the tavern, peering about.

“Shit,” Rokal groaned to himself.

“Drop him, quick!” he called out in Orcish. The entire tavern had stilled, watching the scene unfold, but he knew that calloused group would deny knowing anything that had transpired, neither condemning nor exonerating anyone. The bruisers never asked questions. They weren’t interested in who started it or anything of the sort. If they saw fighting, anyone involved would be in trouble. Urguz released the man, letting him tumble to the floor.

“You’re with him!” the man spat at Svanna.

She bristled at the poisonous tone.

“You’re with the _Horde!_ ” he continued, cruelly, standing up. “Is he paying you to suck his dick or are you doing it for free?” 

Six goblin bruisers entered the room and began to file toward the bar.

Svanna felt her chest tighten. 

“You fucking bit—” before the man could spew his vitriol, Urguz’s massive fist rammed forcefully into his face. The man fell backward, hitting the wall, his face a bloody mess.

The bruisers swiftly fell upon them.


	5. The Decision

“Take care of her,” Urguz mouthed to Rokal as two bruisers began to escort him out of the tavern, heavy cuffs on his wrists.

Svanna was shaking and Rokal cursed Urguz’s impulsiveness. He had to contact Zee before heading over to the jail.

He exhaled loudly, frustrated.

 _What a fucking mess_ , he thought as they began to walk down the street. 

“I’m sorry,” Svanna uttered quietly. “It’s all my fault. It’s like I’m _cursed_ : all I do is bring misfortune to everyone who is good to me.” She sobbed.

Before she could continue, though, Rokal pulled her closer to him, wrapping his arm protectively around her shoulders. 

“Listen to me: this was not ya fault. It was not ya fault that some drunken asshole harassed ya. It’s also not ya fault that Urguz punched that idiot out cold: he knew exactly what he was doin' and what da consequences be.”

She sniffed, leaning into him. 

“I’m a drain on you both, ever since I arrived,” she said in a wisp of a voice. “It would have been best if I had _died_ that night! Then Urguz wouldn’t be stuck in jail because of me!” 

His heart broke to see her so downtrodden. He halted in the street and embraced her, his memory flashing back to the time Urguz did something very similar. He held her tight, feeling every sob she muffled against his chest. He rubbed her back gently, trying to calm her, letting her cry for a bit, never letting her go. When he sensed she had stopped crying, he stepped back and placed a finger under her chin, raising her head so that they were facing each other.

“I be so grateful you be here right now,” he told her affectionately, a faint smile on his lips. She blinked back some tears as she held his gaze, her nose red and her eyes puffy. “Because I be needin’ someone there with me, at da jail, to help me make fun of Urguz, okkie-dokkie? Da big oaf is gonna be fine. We…know some people.” He gave her a reassuring squeeze before leading her toward the Everlook Jail.

* * *

Zee rubbed his face tiredly.

“Boys!” he called out to the goblins at the reception area of the jail. “VIP treatment— give him blankets, food, whatever he asks for, and release him first thing in the morning. You know the drill.” He stopped before Rokal. “You understand, right? I can’t let him out tonight. Not when a bunch of witnesses at the tavern saw the brawl go down. We have a reputation to uphold, after all,” he said in a lower voice, even though it was only them and the other goblins at the jail. “We can’t have a rumor going around that we’re favoring one faction over the other, you understand.”

Rokal shrugged. 

“Ya call da shots.”

“Oh, come on, Rok!” Zee slapped his arm playfully. “You know the Cartel prizes your services—we just have to be careful. Makes all our lives easier. Urguz will be well taken care of: I promise. And he will be released tomorrow—no charges have been brought against him.” He winked. “Courtesy of the house.”

 _Fair enough_ , Rokal thought. And a little jail stay might help calm that hot head of his…

“Can we please see him?” Svanna asked meekly. Zee looked at the jailer inquisitively. The jailer nodded.

“He’s on the first floor, right down the hall. He’s the only one.”

“Where’s da fucker who was harassing my friend?” Rokal asked crossly. "Shouldn’t he be here as well?”

“At the healer, getting his face stitched back together. Then he’s coming for a little stay with us. We don’t normally discuss these cases, but you might be surprised to hear this isn’t this particular individual’s first offense.”

“Shocking,” Rokal muttered. “And I trust he won’t be getting da VIP treatment.”

Zee chuckled. 

“Nah— but he won’t be staying long; we’re releasing him to the Alliance as soon as we can. He might want to behave from now on, though: He’s on the _list_.”

The list was something distributed among the Steamwheedle Cartel’s holdings: Gadget, Booty Bay, Everlook, Mudsprocket, Fuselight, Ratchet… 

Rokal grinned with satisfaction. Being on the list was a kind of probation that complicated life. He did not envy the man the endless bureaucracy and waits anytime he tried to go to one of the Cartel’s cities.

That was some sweet justice.

“Okkie-dokkie: where’s that moron friend of ours?” he asked.

* * *

The cell was stark, but clean. There were windows along the wall outside the cell and a tray with some bread, cheese, and a modest flagon of wine that had been deposited on a small counter. When Rokal and Svanna wandered in, Urguz had been lying on his berth, his arm folded behind his head.

He looked pissed off, but at the sight of them, his expression softened.

“What are you two doing here?” he called out, sitting up. Svanna ran to the cell, wrapping her hands around the bars.

“I’m so sorry, Urguz!” she said weepily.

Urguz offered her a smile.

“Hey,” he said warmly. “Why are you apologizing?” He placed his hands over hers through the bars, making her cry harder. “Please don’t cry,” he asked her. “I don’t like to see you so upset.” She took a shaky breath, trying to compose herself. “We’ll go home tomorrow.” She peered up, her blue eyes so transparent and earnest. He looked across the way at Rokal, who was leaning against the wall. “Svanna, would you mind leaving us alone for a moment? I need to talk to Rokal in private.”

She nodded, wiping her eyes. She turned and walked to the door, stepping back into the reception area.

“That be wise,” Rokal stated dryly. “Because then she won’t have to hear da foul language I be usin’ to express how pissed off I am that ya—” 

“I don’t want her to go,” Urguz interrupted. “You saw what happened in there. Just thinking of anything bad happening to her again makes my blood boil.” He stared at the ground for a moment. “I’ve been giving it some thought. I want to ask her to stay. With us. What do you think?”

Rokal tilted his head. Part of him wanted to tell Urguz that they shouldn’t get more involved…but another part, a bigger part, one that had liked the warmth he’d felt when holding Svanna close, one that looked forward to her company and her laughter and playfulness was almost… _giddy_ at the thought.

“I be thinkin' da same thing. She has nobody back in Stormwind. She be all alone in da world. She might as well stay with people who be carin’ about her, right?” 

Urguz grinned broadly. 

“Good. I’m glad you feel the same way.”

Rokal glanced toward the door.

“Should we ask her now?”

“Yes.”

* * *

Svanna had never felt happier in her life. When they had asked her if she wanted to stay with them, it was more than relief and joy. Those two had saved her from a horrid existence and since she’d been staying with them, had showered her with attention, kindness, and above all, respect. They treated her as an equal. She had never lived like that. 

When they returned home, they had sat together around the fire, celebrating Urguz’s release and discussing the “terms of her residence”, as Rokal had stated, teasing her. She sat on a low stool, cupping a small earthenware mug halfway filled with wine between her hands. The conversation had led to where she would live. Urguz had gallantly offered her his cottage.

“No,” she insisted. 

“I don’t mind!” Urguz protested. “ _We_ don’t mind!” He continued, indicating Rokal.

“Actually, I DO mind—this guy is messy. But!” Rokal pointed at Svanna. “I will gladly put up with it. For you,” he said softly.

“Thank you, but I can’t take Urguz’s cottage!” she cried out, turning to the orc. "It’s too much! This was your home before I arrived and turned everything upside down! It’s not fair!”

“You need your own space.”

“I don’t mind sharing. In fact, I’ve had to share most of my life: I never had my own quarters. When I was a servant, I shared a room with my mother and another woman who worked at the manor. When my mother passed, I slept in the same room as my mistress, who was elderly and needed care during the night.”

Rokal and Urguz shared a slightly embarrassed glance. 

“But…We be male and you be a female. Ya might want ya privacy.”

“I will sleep on a cot in your cabin, since it is bigger,” she stated to Urguz. “We can place the folding screen between the bedroom and the pantry or galley area, and I will sleep there. Please reclaim your cabin and your bed—I’d feel so much better. And I am sure Rokal here wouldn’t mind if I occasionally stayed at his cottage if you ever wanted to be alone.”

“No, I wouldn’t mind,” Rokal agreed. “But if ya snore, I be tossing ya down da mountain.”

She narrowed her eyes at him and he chuckled. 

“All right,” Urguz agreed. “If you feel that strongly about it. I don’t mind sharing the cottage with you.”

“Well, I guess that sums things up!” the troll concluded, tipping back the bottle of wine they’d shared.

Svanna took a small sip before blinking a few times at the crackling fire.

“There is one more thing.” She peered up from the fire, her face suddenly very serious.

“What is it?” urguz’s brow furrowed.

“I want to earn my keep. I have abused your generosity enough.”

Rokal grimaced.

“Svanna…”

“No, I am serious. I’ve worked all my life. I don’t like feeling useless. If I am staying here, I want to contribute.”

“You do plenty!” the orc tried to reason with her. “You help with all the chores.”

“No.” She crossed her arms. “I want to _help_. Contribute. With _money_. I want to earn money.”

“We can pay ya for the work we give you here, right?” Rokal sought Urguz’s gaze.

“That’s not what I meant. I want to work.”

“Where?” Rokal puzzled, shrugging and looking around them, indicating the starry night on the quiet mountain. 

“With you. I want to go on missions, too. I think I can help.”

Both males groaned.

“Absolutely not.” Rokal snorted.

“Svanna, our missions are dangerous. Rokal and I have been doing this for years. I’ve trained and fought as a soldier at Orgrimmar and Rokal is a seasoned battle mage. We are both war veterans.”

“What are you trying to say?”

“Just that…if you come with us, it could be dangerous. You could get hurt. We have to be focused on what our enemies and marks are doing, otherwise we could get killed. And we can’t focus on our mission if we have to worry about you getting hurt. We’d never forgive ourselves if something were to happen to you out there.”

Rokal nodded vehemently in agreement.

Svanna lowered her head, deep in thought and Urguz hoped that had been enough to persuade her.

“But I think I can help. There are things I can be very good at,” she began slowly.

Urguz frowned but Rokal winked at him.

“Like what?” 

“Well, when I was a servant…I was trained to be unobtrusive. I was not to make my presence known when I was working in the manor. I learned to do my tasks silently, unnoticed, never drawing attention to myself. And I was quite good at it: I have a light step and I know how to stay out of the way. My master used to say I was invisible.”

“Ya master was also 100 years old and probably deaf and blind,” Rokal provoked. 

“You don’t believe me?” She stood up, peering around them. “Let me show you.” 

“This I be wantin’ to see…” 

“Place something of yours close by…and I will take it without your noticing it,” she challenged them.

Urguz looked at Rokal, who smirked, shaking his head. Urguz unfastened a small pouch he carried on his belt and extended his palm toward her, to show her, before placing it on the ground next to him. She nodded affirmatively. 

“Now, keep talking. Imagine I’ve just stepped away to fetch something from one of the cottages,” she told them.

“It’s a clear night, isn’t it?” Urguz was straining to act naturally and Rokal couldn’t help grinning. Svanna began to walk normally toward one of the cottages. He turned to Urguz again.

“Yah. A good night to have ya pouch of coin stolen, ha?”

But when he peered toward the cottage, the smirk froze on his face.

She was gone.

Their eyes darted about the campfire, trying to make her silhouette out in the soft shadows.

“I bet she be hidin’ behind da cottage and she be waitin’ for us to get up and look for her to run out here and grab da pouch. Don’t ya go!”

Urguz crossed his arms.

“I don’t see how she’s going to pull this off. No rogue has ever succeeded in sneaking up on—”

They both heard a dull thud from the opposite cottage. Their heads turned instinctively toward the noise.

“How did she get over there so fast?” Urguz whispered, not averting his eyes from the cottage.

“Ssh…” Rokal chided him, trying to listen carefully for the smallest of sounds.

They held their silence for a few seconds.

“Fuck!” Urguz shouted suddenly, springing up. He began to circle his side of the campfire in a mild dither.

The pouch was gone. 

“How? How?” he cried incredulously. Rokal’s eyes widened before he let out a low chuckle.

“All right, you can reveal yourself! Well done!” 

He sensed movement behind him and startled when she leaned toward him, her breath warm against his ear. 

“Believe me now?”

She couldn’t have known how sensitive his ears were and how tantalizing feeling her so close, her breath on his skin was. His cock twitched against the front of his trousers.

“E’chuta, woman!” he cursed. “Ya scared me!”

“How did you do that?” Urguz marveled. “I didn’t notice you approaching at all.”

She reached in her wool coat pocket for a smooth pebble and flung it across the way. It landed with a thud on the ground. 

“I can’t believe I fell for that!” he shouted, half irritated, half impressed.

Rokal pressed his lips together.

“Very clever, but da trick gets old and sentinels be on the lookout for tricks like that. In fact, one will go inspect what da noise is while da other will be expectin’ a strike just like yours…It wouldn’t end well.”

“Fine. Want me to do it once more?”

“Yah,” Rokal challenged her. “But dis time…” He slipped a silver dagger from its sheath and placed it on the ground, in front of his feet.

Svanna’s brows furrowed.

“Come on. I can’t sneak up right in front of you!”

“What? Ya gonna tell our marks how they should be arrangin’ their belongins so their positions be more advantageous for ya?”

She tilted her head to the side. It was unfair.

“Fine. I will try!”

“Ya do that!” he scolded her, sitting down and staring at the dagger. She retreated, disappearing from their sight back into the darkness of their campsite. 

At first both men were quiet, listening for any kind of sound. But there was none. 

“Do ya see her comin’?” Rokal asked softly, his eyes glued on the dagger.

Urguz shook his head.

“What?” 

“NO!” he grumbled. “I mean, this isn’t very fair,” he argued. “We know she’s coming and we know for what. That’s not exactly what would be happening in the field.”

“Don’t care. Not willin’ to take a risk with her.”

The fire crackled and they fell silent, listening, waiting.

After ten minutes of more nothing, Urguz began to yawn.

“I think she gave up.”

“That’s what she be wantin’ ya to think, mon!”

“Well, you can stay there, for all I care. I’m going to bed— my last night on your floor!” he cheered, pushing off the ground and stretching a bit stiffly before heading to Rokal’s cottage.

He closed his eyes slightly, conjuring all his senses. Did she have any idea how acute a troll’s senses were? How superior to practically every other race on Azeroth trolls were when it came to their senses? He cheated a bit—while his eyes were closed, he placed the tip of his foot on the hilt of the dagger. And then he focused on his surroundings. 

It was a nothing—not even a rustle—he felt it more than heard it: she had crouched down nearby—it was in the motion, the nearness, her warmth shifting from above to below. He was _that_ sensitive, he thought proudly. Even with his eyes closed he could practically see her stretch her arm toward the dagger, her eyes probably fixed on him…

“Gotcha!” he cried out, seizing the top of her arm. She tried to grab the dagger, but he dug the ball of his foot firmly over the hilt. She cursed under her breath before pushing his leg to the side with all her might. He toppled over on his small stool and she grabbed the dagger even as he clutched her arm more firmly. 

“I got the dagger,” she warned him.

“And I got ya!” he countered.

“Not for long,” she grinned wildly, tossing the dagger aside, beyond his reach, and trying to twist herself away from him. He flung his other arm around her torso, reeling her against him. Her back crashed against his chest.

“Da game is over,” he said triumphantly.

“You’ll never take me alive!” she joked, laughing, squirming against his arms, starting to slip away.

“Ah, no ya don’t!” He lunged forward grasping at her. She fell forward and he attempted to brace her against him again. But somehow, in their tussle, his hand roved over her cotton blouse, accidentally cupping and squeezing her soft breast. Their laughing halted immediately and he released her quickly, pulling his hands away and moving backward. His face was stinging and his heart was racing, more from the absolute mortification he was feeling.

“I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to—” he began contritely. “Svanna, I’m sorry. I would never disrespect ya—”

She tugged at her woolen coat and folded her arms. Her face was flushed as well.

“It’s all right, Rokal. I know you wouldn’t take advantage of me like that. We were just tussling and…” She grinned faintly, looking down at herself. “While they’re not big, they’re…there. Women problems!” she joked. 

He inhaled deeply, relieved. She wasn’t upset with him. 

“Yah. But, ya know, men have some…danglin’ parts, too, and those ya can definitely kick or punch in a tussle, whether they be big or not. Then da game be really over,” he kidded gratefully. She laughed. He grinned back at her. “And if ya wanna kick mine right now to get even, ya can.”

“How about instead of that kick, you admit that I am pretty good at that stealthing thing,” she proposed.

“ _Fine_ ,” he said in a sanguine tone. “I be handin’ it to ya: ya be pretty good at bein’ sneaky,” he agreed. 

“And you aren’t saying that just because you grabbed my boob,” she lowered her voice, sassing him.

He groaned.

“Ya never gonna let it go now, are ya?”

“Not until you let me go on a mission with you.”

“Look: ya not ready yet. Ya trick there isn’t quite ready.”

She huffed lightly, her shoulders slumping down.

“But…with a little practice, I think ya might be ready to help us,” he admitted.

* * *

Svanna couldn’t be happier. Not only would she be allowed to stay with her friends, she might even be able to become less of a burden to them. As she got ready for bed that night, taking off her wool coat, cotton shirt, and wide binding band, she contemplated her reflection for moment in the narrow mirror Urguz had hung on the wall. She held the heavy flannel nightshirt Urguz had brought her back from one of the many Everlook trips in her hand, but as she moved to pull it over her head, she halted for a moment, remembering how Rokal had cupped her breast. It had felt good. She hadn’t expected the sensation to feel so...What? She wasn’t used to such feelings. She had never even _kissed_ a man in her life. She looked at her small breasts and raised her hands to them, cupping them lightly, wondering what the contrast of his blue skin against her pale skin would look like, those big hands caressing her… She noticed how her light pink nipples pebbled, the flesh around them tightening and darkening at the memory of his touch again, as fleeting as it was. A pleasant throbbing began between her legs and she stood there helplessly, her cheeks flushing, unsure of how to ease that sweet longing or how to make those wanton thoughts stop.

She quickly pulled the nightshirt over her head and turned away from the sight of her bared desire in the mirror.


	6. The Mission

“Tonight, ya just watchin’, understood?” Rokal reminded her, as they hid among the bushes, up a small embankment, steps away from the winding trail below. 

She nodded dutifully.

Urguz was crouching next to her.

“Should anything go wrong, stay with Rokal. If something happens to both of us, you bolt. When it’s safe, head toward Everlook and find Zee,” he explained. At her expression of concern, he couldn’t help smiling. She was so disarmingly sweet. “The likelihood of that happening is next to none,” he reassured her. “We have some idiots here who are part of a small-time criminal ring that tried to defraud some merchants in Everlook. The Cartel wants us to send them a clear message.”

“So it’s more me tonight than you?” Rokal approached them, holding his staff. 

“The four bandits are hiding in that cave. You zap them. I’ll come in and tie them up for delivery. Zee said we should fire a signal when we’re done.”

“And me?” Svanna asked eagerly.

“You stay here!” Urguz warned. “Like we talked about.”

Svanna nodded again, but Rokal could tell she was a bit deflated. They turned their attention to the small campfire glowing in a cave across from them, on the other side of the trail that cut through the forest. 

They fell silent when they heard voices further ahead. A group of two men and a woman came down the snowy trail. The woman carried a long walking stick and one of the men appeared to be hauling a large burlap bundle. 

“Are they over there?” one of the men asked.

“That’s what the map says," the woman snapped.

“We’ll warm up at their fire for a bit but then we have to move quickly.”

Urguz and Rokal exchanged confused glances. From what they’d been told, they were only apprehending four bandits whose hideout was in the small cave they were staking out. Those extra three people were a surprise.

“I wonder who snitched on us," one of the men grumbled.

“Good thing we got a heads up. Coin well spent,” the other man replied.

“The Twilight Priestess will be very disappointed,” the woman stated dryly. “Everlook was very profitable to the Order.”

Rokal and Urguz’s eyes widened. 

“Twilight priestess?” Urguz mouthed to them.

“This be real bad,” Rokal agreed, whispering. “We should abort the mission and let Zee know this runs deeper than he thought.”

Urguz turned to Svanna. “As soon as they begin to head over to the cave, we will retreat, ok? Just hold still.”

The cultists stopped in front of their hiding place and Svanna was so nervous, she held her breath. She felt a warm touch on the back of her hand; Urguz had taken her hand, giving it a small squeeze. She squeezed back and smiled faintly. Just then, the burlap sack one of the men was carrying began to squirm and let out a loud wail.

“Is the offering awakening already?” the woman asked with a curious glance. “We should hurry and make the blood sacrifice, then. We can escape faster if our load is lighter.

 _Offering? Blood sacrifice?_ Svanna peered back at her companions.

Urguz cast Rokal a steely look and Rokal nodded, understanding immediately. Urguz released her hand and leaned closer to her ear. 

“Go to Zee. Now.” He looked at her meaningfully. “Run,” he ordered her.

Just as Urguz and Rokal burst from their hiding place to confront the cultists, Svanna bolted through the thicket, her eyes accustomed to the night. She peered over her shoulder as one of the cultists heaved the burlap sack into the snow bank and ran toward the shouts, weapons clashing, and bright flashes that lit the woods. The sack wriggled to and fro until a small figure crawled out of the sack, disheveled, bright black eyes startled and terrified.

It was a child—a young orc child. Svanna stopped cold and despite her orders, backtracked toward him. He was so tiny, Svanna realized with a pang. She ran up to where he was standing and crouched down in front of him.

“Come with me, she said, extending her hand to him. 

He looked frightened. Another flash exploded behind the boy and he scurried toward her. He uttered something, but she couldn’t understand him. They stood facing each other helplessly when they heard the cultist woman heading up the trail.

“…From nowhere! Hurry! They'll come for us when they're done with the others! If I use the boy, I can portal us away.”

Svanna didn’t wait to see who she was talking to. She grabbed the terrified child’s hand. As he still wouldn’t budge, trembling at the woman’s voice, she picked him up and and began to run.

“There—don’t let them get away!” the woman cried out angrily.

 _Run_ , Urguz’s voice echoed in her head as she forced herself to pick up the pace even as she heard the pounding of boots behind her, her heart racing and blood rushing through her ears. The little boy clung to her tighter, a pleading tone in his voice. Svanna dashed over the trail, like Urguz had told her, but he had never counted on there being a pursuit. If she was going to shake them off, she would have to dart past the trail and into the brush. She clutched the boy tighter to her and dashed into the woods, weaving through the trees, rushing further into the darkness of the forest. It was their only chance.

* * *

“Well, that sucked!” Rokal huffed, slamming the hilt of his staff into the ground. “What da fuck.”

Urguz kicked the shoulder of one of the corpses lying around the cave’s campfire. They’d downed five bandits. They had hoped to catch up to the woman and her accomplice, both of whom had managed to flee when they’d attacked. She had all but disappeared. 

“Zee has no idea how shittier his day is about to get.”

“Da Cartel is not gonna be happy.”

“Once Cultists are involved, then the Alliance and the Horde are going to be all up in their business…”

“And that be bad for _our_ business,” Rokal grumbled, looking at the destruction about them. “Think we be takin’ our winter hiatus earlier than we thought.”

“I had hoped to get at least a couple more missions before winter really hit hard." He sighed. “Looks like this was the last hurrah of the season.” He began to walk toward the trail. “Come on—let’s see if we find what was in that sack before Zee shows up.”

The two began to walk sullenly up the path until they reached the empty sack, crumpled over the snow. 

“Hmm.” Urguz crouched down. He was an excellent tracker and Rokal waited as he surveyed the scene. “Two sets of footprints heading up the trail.” He backtracked and disappeared for a few minutes while Rokal remained still, unwilling to disturb the site further. “Rok—the woman came this way…and the other man stayed with her.” 

Rokal frowned and pointed at the sack. 

“And what do ya think happened here?”

Urguz looked carefully at the snow that had been disturbed. 

“Footsteps. Small. Maybe a child. They go as far as…” His brow furrowed. "Wait…There is a second set of footsteps here that were headed out toward Everlook... but then backtracked.” He picked up his pace, following forward. “The small ones disappear—see here?—And this set suddenly becomes deeper, heavier…” He pondered this for a few seconds before casting Rokal a terrified look. “Svanna! I think she came back for whoever was in the sack!” 

“Fuck!” Rokal roared. “What the fel are you waiting for! Follow the tracks!”

“This was the worst idea ever!”

“Not now!” Rokal growled, looking ahead, his eyes narrowing into slits.

* * *


	7. Pursuit

Svanna cursed herself for losing sight of the path.

The path that was supposed to take her toward Everlook.

The path where she would find safety and the reinforcements Urguz had asked her to alert.

She swerved swiftly past branches, dipping down and around the thick forest brush. The cultists, however, remained steady on their trail. Thick snow sank beneath her feet, slowing her down. “Hold on,” she uttered to the little orc boy reassuringly. She convinced herself that if only she stayed ahead, kept moving, perhaps their pursuers would finally give up. Or maybe, she hoped wildly, Urguz and Rokal would follow. She just had to keep moving. Every few moments, she quickly tossed a glance over her shoulder.

The woman had fallen back significantly, but her companion was gaining on her.

“Blasted!” she muttered, her eyes narrowing as she pushed forward. Further ahead the landscape was changing: through the tangled branches a blinding whiteness unfurled.

 _Not that way_ , she decided. It was open terrain and they would become an easy target for their pursuers. 

She veered a hard left, hoping to find more cover through the forest, but realized, with a her stomach sinking, that that direction, too, opened up to that stark, broad whiteness. Another quick check over her shoulder showed that the man was closing the distance between them rapidly. His panting reached her ears as he grew closer. She adjusted the boy in her arms, bracing him tighter. Grunting under her breath, she pushed through her encroaching exhaustion and tore forth in a last-ditch sprint, bursting into the snowy open terrain. As her boots struck the ground, she realized something was off: it was hard, unyielding…and smooth. Without traction, the soles of her boots caused her to glide forward. Terrified, she teetered backward, almost losing her footing; she was crossing a large, frozen lake. A dull thud resounded not too far behind her and the boy in her arms interjected something in orcish. Turning her head halfway, she saw her pursuer splayed over the ice.

_Our chance!_

She lowered the boy to the ground, grasping his hand and forging over the snow-covered slab of solid ice. It was safer than carrying him. She looked behind her again and saw, against the moonlight and bright snow, that the man was still only on his knees, grimacing. A twinge of triumph overcame her as she began to believe she and the boy were going to make it. Once they crossed the lake, they would be back inside the cover of the forest. If she got a good head start, there was a good chance they would give up.

“Come!” she whispered encouragingly to the boy, squeezing his small hand in hers as they hurried toward the opposite bank.

A small commotion erupted behind them, but she was too focused on reaching the shore to look. 

_Keep moving forward_ , she ordered herself, a stitch of pain causing her to gasp and squeeze the boy’s hand tighter. The boy squeezed back and kept up with her cautious scrambling. An angry screech pierced the silence behind them.

“The blood sacrifice is our only escape from the Horde!” she heard the woman cry before an angry exchange erupted. 

_Not tonight_ , Svanna's brow furrowed with determination. The shore was just up ahead, she urged herself onward. 

At first, Svanna thought the sharp coldness was a sudden gust of wind whipping past them just as a crack of lightning lit the valley...but an intense, fiery sting spread across her back.

She cried out in pain and the boy began to wail. When she turned her head again, she could see the woman standing on the lake. Her hands were extended before her like two upturned claws, and a frenzy of blazing light crackled and flashed from her flesh. 

_A sorceress,_ Svanna realized, her stomach sinking. She barely had time to maneuver the boy to stand in front of her, shielding him from their pursuers when the next burst erupted. This one was so powerful that Svanna stumbled forward, toppling over the boy. 

_It burns!_ she clenched her teeth, struggling to push off the ground. 

“Stop where you are—I will not spare you with this next bolt!” the sorceress threatened. Svanna rolled onto her back and saw that the man was rapidly approaching them. With a look of sheer panic, she ordered the boy, “Go!” She pointed toward the woods. “Go!” she cried, her eyes wide. The boy hesitated but seemed to grasp her meaning, as he began frantically to scurry toward the opposite bank. Svanna rose, ready to engage with the man, doing what, she didn’t know, it didn’t matter—she hadn’t thought it through and right then and there her goal was to ensure that the child got away from their clutches. She did try to stand up, but the man pushed her back down as he passed her en route to chase down the boy. Undeterred, Svanna lunged at his leg, managing to snag his ankle in her grasp. The man tripped but didn’t fall, and began trying to shake his leg free. She only grasped it tighter. 

“Leave him alone!” she growled. 

The reply was a swift kick from his free leg, that struck her in the shoulder. 

But she still didn’t let go. The man let out a grunt of frustration and kicked her again, this time hitting her in her chest. That knocked the wind out of her and she felt her grasp loosen despite herself. As she fell back again, she saw that the boy had stopped running and had been watching the scene instead. He cried out angrily as the man’s boot had hit her chest and even started back toward them. 

“Go!” Svanna tried to shout again, but instead she gasped for air as another bolt struck her, causing her to convulse, her eyes rolling up. 

“Get the boy,” the sorceress announced tersely as she stepped into Svanna’s field of sight. Svanna was lying over the snow, her breaths shallow since a sharp pain radiated from her chest if she took in a deeper breath. The woman glanced down at her, an expression of disdain and annoyance emerging as they locked gazes. “Who sent you?” Her tone was curt and demanding.

“You people are mad! What kind of all-powerful entity clamors for the blood of little children?” Svanna challenged, trying to sit up. The woman merely cast another charge at her. It cut and burned her flesh all at once, like a flurry of tiny knife blades poking into her, or a length of barbed wire running over her skin. 

“Who. Sent. You,” she demanded imperiously. 

She could hear the boy shouting behind her, and the man soon joined in. For a moment, Svanna thought all was lost. The boy had been caught. But the boy was shouting out excitedly and the man sounded agitated. The woman raised her gaze at him just as there was a light thudding sound behind her. Her expression shifted from one of great annoyance to one of brief confusion before it stilled completely into one of total blankness as she crumpled forward, toppling beside her.

The shaft of an arrow stood from the woman’s back. Through stinging eyes, Svanna could see them, moving over the ice rapidly, Urguz charging forward, toward the man, Rokal lowering his bow, walking swiftly in her direction. 

_Saved_ , she thought, even as the surge of bile rose, causing her to lean over, heave, and begin vomiting.

* * *

Everything hurt.

The surface of Svanna’s skin felt tender and achy. The healer was a goblin woman who wore heavy spectacles and kept asking her simple questions.

“Try to stay awake, dear. It’s very important,” she insisted, as her hands prodded her uncomfortably. 

A hand alighted over her head, gingerly, caressing her head. The touch was gentle and familiar. 

“Svanna?” 

Through the blur, she made out Rokal’s face. She blinked slowly, fighting through the waves of sheer exhaustion. 

“Ya gonna be all right,” his voice was low and soothing.

She winced.

He lowered his head, resting his forehead against the edge of the large slab she’d been placed on.

“I’m sorry.” He exhaled. “This be all my fault.”

She tried to reply, growing agitated.

“I suggest you step outside for a breather, if you are going cause my patient distress,” the goblin chided him.

Rokal rose, his shoulders slumped forward. It pained him to see her like that. It hurt him even more to know it was because of his misjudgment, his desire to please and cheer her. They should have never brought her along. 

He stepped out into the snowy cobblestoned street to find Urguz standing beside the doorway.

Zee’s stare was stern as he listened to one of his men.

“No,” he interrupted. “I want our agents combing those woods tonight. I do not care how late or dark it is,” he ordered sharply. “If word gets out that cultists are interfering with trade routes to Everlook, it’s going to be a long, dismal winter. Do you understand?” The usual playfulness in Zee’s tone was gone as he addressed his crew. Urguz stood aside, his arms crossed and his face still in its usual stoic expression. This was anything but business as usual. Cultists were always bad news. The problem was greater than they had imagined and it had to be assigned to the right team. It didn’t surprise Rokal, though, that Zee was so incensed. The breakdown in the intelligence they’d been given revealed there was a weak link somewhere in Zee’s security team: someone had dropped the ball. Whether it had been the result of laziness, oversight, or perhaps even a bribe, remained to be seen. 

But… it was no longer _their_ problem, Rokal gathered, stealing a glance at the little orc boy sitting on the bench beside the infirmary's doorway, chewing on the skin of his thumb. 

* * *

Zee looked on as his crew of goblins made their way to the city gates.

“Well, boys…” he began slowly, as the last of the goblins disappeared around the corner. He offered them a tight, worried grin. “Thanks for the heads-up. Do you have accommodations for tonight?”

Urguz looked at Rokal, who shrugged.

“She gonna be a while still, mending da broken ribs.” 

“Doesn’t make sense to wait out here in the cold. We should head into town. I can put you up somewhere for the night. Your work here, fortunately, is over.” He frowned. “While mine has just begun.” He heaved a heavy sigh. “What a shit show.”

“We be done for da season,” Rokal told him. “Da mountain passes be gettin’ too treacherous to cross. We’ll be headin’ home tomorrow, until spring.” 

Zee glanced back at him, then Urguz with his bleary eyes.

“A bit earlier this year,” he scolded them.

Urguz shrugged. “Take it up with Mother Nature.”

Everything practically came to a grinding halt once the winter snows began falling in earnest. Everlook was able to keep its main roads cleared, but that was the extent of it. With freezing temperatures and thick layers of snow, most non-essential trading activity, including that of the illicit kind, slowed for a few months. During those months Urguz would usually head south to Durotar, to work at his family’s homestead.

“Does it have anything to do with her?” Zee thrust his chin toward the healer’s door. Rokal remained impassive.

“Mm? I don’t know. Does Svanna be makin’ it snow?” Rokal teased. Zee finally chuckled.

“She seems to be trouble, is all I am saying. Giving you both a run for your money.”

“She hasn’t had da easiest time, no,” Rokal agreed. “But she be da one who saved that child.”

Both of them looked at the little orc boy.

“Saving that child and my _ass_.” Zee shuddered, turning away. “How could we explain that a child was snatched right under our noses in our own city in broad daylight?” Zee lowered his voice. “Kid’s father is some government stiff and his mother is a general… She was threatening the Council with the wrath of Orgrimmar if we didn’t locate the boy. Don’t want to think of what would have happened if he had been harmed…”

“What’s an orc general doing out here?” Urguz asked, raising an eyebrow. 

“That’s for you to wonder about and for me to know.” Zee winked at him. “We have all sorts—from both factions—at all times. Discretion is half the Cartel’s allure.” He reached into his coat and began patting his vest. He pulled out an envelope. “Here’s your pay for this mission.” As Urguz reached out to take it, he added, “You’ll find a little extra in there. For your friend’s effort.”

Rokal grinned faintly. Svanna would be happy.

* * *

“Svanna?”

She grumbled in faint protest. The healer had finally told her she could rest, but she was finding it difficult to do when she was being poked at and turned and given things to sip and swallow.

“Svanna, someone wants to say good-bye to you,” the goblin healer persisted. 

Her eyes fluttered open and her gaze gradually focused on a small shape standing over her cot. 

It was the boy. He offered her the brightest grin, his eyes crinkling as he looked at her.

“Sva-Nah!” he said excitedly, reaching for her hand. She couldn’t help grinning back, giving him a fainter smile through her discomfort and pain.

“Yes,” she nodded. “And your name?”

She heard someone mutter something in orcish.

“Broggu!” he declared proudly. 

“Broggu!” she repeated warmly. “I am so happy you are all right.”

The smile faded from his face and he turned around, addressing the healer. Urguz said something.

“He wants to know if you will be all right,” Urguz explained, appearing beside her. “I told him 'yes'.”

Her eyes filled with tears.

“Oh, Urguz…I thought everything was lost…” she whispered, emotion beginning to seize her. His gaze swept over her poor, bruised face and he wished he could take all her pain and discomfort away. The back of his fingers grazed her temple.

She heard another voice- this one deep and unfamiliar.

“Someone else be wantin’ to know if ya gonna be all right,” Rokal said, across the room. 

A figure approached, standing beside Urguz. 

Svanna blinked nervously a few times. Before her was a large orcess, with thick black braids, the pommel of her sword jutting out from her left hip.

“This is General Isda Steelstrike,” Urguz explained, in a formal tone. “She is Broggu’s mother. She wanted to thank you in person for saving her son.”

Svanna stared in awe, unsure at what to say as that piercing blue gaze appraised her.

“Please tell her I am sorry this happened to Broggu-”

Before she could go on, though, the orcess had dropped down to one knee and struck her chest with her fist, in a traditional gesture of respect.

“Aka’Magosh,” the woman began, followed by a tangle of words she could not understand. She looked at Urguz in slight alarm for aid, but noticed a twinkle of amusement in his eyes.

* * *

General Isda waited for Urguz to shut the door behind them as he walked them out of the infirmary.

“Have the healer send any charges for Svanna’s care to me.”

“That is very generous,” he stated, standing before her. He was well aware the woman was scrutinizing him.

“How well do you know this human?”

“She is family,” he declared tersely.

The general nodded slowly.

“I see you were a soldier,” she continued, indicating the thick tattoo snaking around his wrist.

“Aye. I served under Braggor Bloodfist.”

Isda’s eyes narrowed.

“The Kor’kron Guard? In Undercity?”

He nodded, the memories unpleasant. 

“I wonder where he is now—since Sylvannas-”

“It was a long time ago,” Urguz interrupted, unwilling to indulge her curiosity about his loyalties any further. “When the Warchief was _Thrall_ ,” he added pointedly. End of discussion. The general held his gaze before the child tugged at her hand.

“Can we go home now?”

“Of course, pup.” She faced him with that cool, calculating air. “Thank you, soldier.” 

Urguz chuckled as she walked away with her son, surrounded by a small retinue. 

He had gotten a ‘thank you.’

But Svanna had gotten a hero’s salute.


	8. Nighttime

Heavy snow accumulated outside the window. The room they had taken at a small inn for the night had a good fireplace, at least. Svanna blinked sleepily at the crackling firewood while she lay on one of the beds, still in her clothes, exhausted.

“So, what is it like to be _dogg’hall_ to a Horde general?” Urguz sat on the bed across from her, removing his boots. “Do you know what that means?” he asked, peering up. 

She shook her head weakly.

“An honored hero—” Rokal interrupted, dropping onto the other side of the bed he was sharing with Urguz. “Ya be an honored hero among da orcs, Svanna.” 

She managed to smile at his words and Urguz chuckled.

“I had to survive several military campaigns before I was eligible for the honor—and here you earn it on your first mission!” he teased.

Svanna’s eyes drooped sleepily. She was beyond tired. The healer had used magic and potions to mend her fractured ribs and the pain had, for the most part, subsided into a manageable, dull ache. She did feel woozy and drowsy, though. She vaguely remembered being carried to the inn in Urguz’s arms, her eyes catching random sights as they traveled through the city: snow, shop signs, lamplights…

“Hey- you should at least take off those boots,” Urguz suggested.

“Oh, all right,” Svanna whispered, not moving. He snorted lightly and shifted over to her bed, sitting on the edge while yanking off her boots. He pulled the heavy blanket at the foot of the bed up and bent over her, planting a small kiss on her forehead. She grinned at the touch of his lips. He brushed the hair off her face tenderly and when he raised his eyes, he met Rokal’s stony glare.

Urguz said nothing as he rose and yanked off his shirt. Rokal settled over his side of the bed uneasily, turning his back to Urguz.

* * *

It was still dark when Svanna awoke, her mouth dry, her throat parched. She swung her legs over the side of the bed and reached for a small carafe posted on the nightstand. She didn’t even bother pouring the water into the small clay cup: she drank from the carafe’s wide mouth, savoring the cool, sweet taste of the water. The room was too warm, she decided. They had tossed so many logs into the fire.

_Probably worried I would be too cold_ , she realized, turning to glance at her companions. Urguz was sleeping across from her. She reached for the tunic he’d tossed on the ground and placed it on a nearby chair. She couldn’t help grinning, seeing the two large males trying to share the relatively small bed. Rokal had managed to yank all the covers to his side and was partially tangled in a pile of sheets and blankets. Urguz lay on his back, his head turned to the side, his arm dangling over the edge of the bed, his chest slowly rising and falling with each breath. 

She had never seen Urguz shirtless. He was always mindful of her back at their camp and usually changed after she was settled in her side of the cabin, a large folding screen between them. She found herself staring at the pale green skin, dark hair covering the muscular chest. He had a tattoo on his left shoulder: Orcish writing symbols she couldn’t make out. A scar slashed his abdomen in a lighter shade of green, disappearing beneath the waistband of his trousers. Even beneath the heavy black fabric she could see his legs were large —powerful, she knew. Her eyes trailed back up to his bared arms, his shoulders, and rested over his face. He had an orc’s features, but he didn’t seem brutish to her. He wasn’t like the knights she had seen parading through Stormwind on various occasions. He wasn’t what she would consider conventionally _handsome_ —but there was something very physically captivating and alluring about him. _Maybe it is because he is so comfortable with himself_ , she thought, fascinated, as she stared at his long, sleek black hair spilling over the pillow. _He’s at home in his own skin_. She sighed, jolting herself out of the little reverie she had fallen into while contemplating the attractive orc. 

Just then, Rokal rolled over, restless, huffing in his sleep. He, too, was shirtless, and she tiptoed quietly toward the fireplace for a better glimpse. They were very different, the two. Urguz was a bundle of muscles- his arms large, his torso well defined. Rokal was lithe and wiry compared to him. He was lean, but strong. While Urguz’s muscles bulged, Rokal’s made his skin taut and hard. The troll’s features were more angular, his blue coloring more unusual, but there was something about him she found...she found it difficult to name, but it made her knees weak if she thought about it too much…And sometimes she did. Her mind kept taking her back to the evening they had wrestled, his arms encircling her so tightly… The way his hand had pressed against her breast had filled her with a yearning she’d never felt so powerfully before. And now there was something new she would commit to the furtive memories that aroused all those tantalizing feelings: she recalled the expression in his face as he lowered his bow at the lake: his eyes ablaze with a determined fierceness she’d never seen before. And then… he had turned that dangerous gaze to her and it shifted completely to something tender and concerned. For her. Because of her. Her stomach fluttered as she recalled the inscrutable way he’d looked at her right before she had succumbed to her pain.

Without realizing it, she had walked herself to the foot of their bed, alternating her gaze between them.

_I love them both so much_ , she realized. 

It had to be the sedatives she’d been given that made her dizzy, she thought in a haze, crawling up the middle of the mattress to lie between them. Rokal protested sleepily at her encroaching on his space and turned his back to her. She grinned, slipping her arm around his torso and pulling herself up against his back, his bare skin warm. She dipped her head back to glance at Urguz, who had shifted as well, rolling over to face them, letting out a groggy snort. She reached out for his arm, drawing it over her midriff so he was clasping her, and fitting her back against him. He didn’t pull back or realize what was happening, but he settled comfortably in the position she had arranged for them. 

She smiled, her eyes fluttering shut. 

_This is perfect_ , she sighed contentedly, drifting off into a deep sleep. 

* * *

Rokal was the first to awake when the first rays of light broke through the flimsy curtains. He blinked, taking in the dim room in slight confusion before slightly raising his hand… which was clasping, fingers entwined, a slender, pale hand. He squinted, his mind still bogged down with sleep. Where was he?

He turned his head halfway and froze when he made out Svanna’s delicate shape huddled up against his back, her cheek pressed to his skin. 

_How on earth?_

He released her hand and untangled himself from her grasp, sitting up in the bed in slight alarm. As his eyes adjusted to the gloomy morning light, in the faint glow of the embers in the hearth, he saw that Svanna had somehow crawled into their bed during the night and was deeply asleep. He then stared at his childhood companion with simmering disapproval: his arm was bracing her firmly to him. He slept soundly.

He quietly pulled on his heavy tunic while glaring at the scene before him.

“Urguz.” He shook the orc’s shoulder. “Get up,” he ordered in a rasp.

Urguz’s reaction would have been comical if Rokal weren’t feeling so out-of-sorts. The orc opened his eyes, smacking his lips for a few moments before going completely still. He jerked away from the bed as if stung by a scorpid.

He peered up at Rokal with incredulity.

“How did she get there?”

“She be there when I woke up.”

Both of them stared at the sleeping woman, her silky golden hair, her expression so peaceful, so serene.

“Maybe she was cold,” Urguz concluded, unable to avert his eyes from her.

“Maybe you and I be needin’ to have a talk.”

“There’s nothing to talk about.”

“Oh, but I think there is.”

“Maybe she was cold…Or scared. It was a rough night.”

“Yah. This arrangement we have is gettin’ complicated.”

Urguz grimaced.

“You always say that, but everything is fine.”

“I see how ya be lookin’ at her,” Rokal uttered in a harsher tone than intended.

Urguz crossed his arms over his chest.

“Are you accusing me of something? Can you say I’ve been anything but respectful toward her?”

Rokal ran his hands through his hair. He walked toward the door and gripped the knob.

“I notice how ya look at her. And I know what it be meaning.” He raised his eyes to the orc, a twinge of guilt surfacing behind them. “Because I look at her in da same way.”


	9. Questions

Goblin cuisine in Everlook left much to be desired. Rokal would never have chosen to eat a meal at a regular goblin establishment, except that traveling with a human meant they needed to tread carefully in town and remain in neutral areas. He watched in silent misery as an order of quillback knuckles was presented to him overcooked and blandly seasoned. Urguz’s food had grown cold and remained untouched. 

“I have no intention on acting on any of these feelings,” Urguz snapped. 

“Don’t care. Ya can’t be sleepin’ in da same cabin together anymore.”

Urguz grumpily sucked air between his teeth before folding his arms over the table and leaning forward.

“Are you worried I can’t _control_ myself?” 

Rokal draped his arm over the back of his chair.

“What I don’t want is ya havin’ an unfair advantage.”

Urguz grimaced.

“When did you realize…?”

Rokal shrugged.

“I don’t know. It just happened.” He pushed his plate away with his fingertips. “When did ya realize it be somethin’ more?”

Urguz exhaled, peering into his empty mug of coffee.

“I…don’t know. It happened gradually… The more we talked, spent time together…Got to know each other. I mean, I already cared for her early on. Somehow, that desire to shelter her, to protect her, began turning into the desire to have her close, to hold her—”

Rokal rubbed his face impatiently.

“No need to go into details, mon. I get da picture.” 

“I don’t need to ask YOU that question…Probably, all she had to do was _breathe_ -” he provoked. 

Rokal cast him the coldest glare he could summon.

“Excuse me for being wary of life-long commitments. Unlike some, I be takin’ such commitments very seriously. Which is why I never tried to be mated to a partner what…Two? Three times, was it?”

Urguz sniffed, irritated.

“It was only _twice_ , we didn’t go through with it, and you KNOW why those relationships didn’t work.”

Rokal smirked. Urguz leaned forward again.

“Although I hear third time is a charm.”

“Ya don’t even know how she be feelin’ about ya!” Rokal snapped back.

“Oh, and you know how she feels about you?” he scolded him.

“I do know somethin’ be different.”

“You sure it’s not indigestion?”

Rokal shifted in his chair, his glare growing more murderous by the minute.

“If ya so sure where ya be standin’, go and lay ya intent at her feet,” he provoked. "See what she has to say about it.”

“Maybe I’m feeling hopeful because I’ve sensed something shift as well. There is something in the way she looks at me now…It’s different, it’s hard to explain.”

“I’m sure it be hard to explain somethin’ that doesn’t exist.”

“Why? You think there is something between the two of you?” Urguz challenged. Rokal averted his gaze. _Yes_ , he wanted to admit. He had noticed something change in their rapport. There was something more…It was in the way her eyes followed him, lingered a beat longer than conventionally acceptable. It was delicate and subtle and it had ignited his own hope for something more with the woman he had become enamored with.

“What do we do now?” Urguz continued, not waiting for an answer, realizing that his question was rhetorical anyway. He watched the barmaid place a fresh mug of black coffee on the table before giving her a thankful nod. 

Rokal hadn’t expected to make his feelings known. He hadn’t expected to find in Urguz a rival. He remained in puzzled silence.

“Perhaps we settle this like orcs,” Urguz teased, puffing out his chest.

Rokal chuckled finally.

“Ya realize it was orcesses who came up with those fightin’ traditions—ya know, to thin out da idiots from da clan.” He cast Urguz a mischievous glance. “Perhaps I should be markin’ her as my woman,” he winked. Urguz shook his head, an irritated grin spreading over his lips. 

“You realize it was Darkspear females who ENDED that tradition. Try to mark a troll female as yours at risk of life and limb…”

Rokal snorted lightly.

“So. What do we do?”

“What do humans do?” Urguz wondered.

* * *

Svanna couldn’t help thinking that she had acted brashly. She couldn’t put her finger on it, but something was off. She had woken up alone in the room at the inn and when she met with Rokal and Urguz later on, they were solicitous and concerned about her, as always, but they seemed… distracted, quieter, preoccupied with collecting provisions before their trek back home. And they never mentioned her incursion into their bed the previous night. 

_Maybe I overstepped my bounds_. She chewed her lower lip nervously, looking out a broad glass window at the tavern where Urguz and Rokal had insisted she wait for them.

“You are still recovering: wait here,” Urguz had instructed.

“But I’d like to help,” she insisted.

“Ya help by waitin’ here. We got this: we be doin’ this for a while.” Rokal winked at her.

She sat quietly, worrying the flap of the envelope they had given her earlier. It was a modest fortune in gold coins: her share for the previous night’s operation. She had wanted the two of them to take it— to allow her to pay them back for all the expenses they had incurred on her behalf— but they wouldn’t hear about it and insisted she keep it. 

_Maybe it’s because they want me to save enough so I can leave and go home_ , she thought sadly. It was a bit irrational, she knew, but she was feeling oddly melancholy that day. 

They had told her they were picking up some gear, supplies, and other sundries. They didn’t expect to depart for at least another two hours. She made a decision and stood up, leaving a brief message for the barkeep.

* * *

Rokal and Urguz rifled through the bookshelf.

“Perhaps if you just TOLD me what you need, you wouldn’t have to demolish my shop,” the haughty blood elf who ran the bookstore huffed.

They exchanged glances. Rokal brushed his thumb over his nose, a casual gesture that signaled to Urguz that he was going to handle the situation. As annoyed as that whole situation with Rokal had made him, Urguz couldn’t help grinning slightly.

“Okkie-dokkie. Perhaps ya can be helpin’ us. My partner here and myself be two scholars. What do ya have about _human_ culture?”

The blood elf rubbed his chin.

“Can you be more specific?”

“We are interested in their rituals… Cultural practices,” Urguz offered.

“I mean, it can vary so much depending on the particular region. There is no one monolithic human culture, you see… Traditions can vary tremendously…Take, for instance, a place like Westfall and compare it to nearby Duskwood. The contrasts are enormous. But then again…You are scholars and already know all that, right?” the man went on in his condescending tone.

Rokal rolled his eyes briefly.

“Yah. So, what do ya be havin’ about human traditions.” Before the man could continue, he added, “In Elwynn Forest.” 

“Ah, that is interesting. Since Stormwind is the Alliance’s capital city, it is the place where cultural practices are seen as the most authentic, but in reality what you see in Stormwind is an amalgamation of traditions that extend beyond the human—”

“We be interested in their courting and mating traditions,” he cut in. 

The blood elf could barely contain his expression of contempt.

“If you are looking for _lurid_ fare, this is hardly the bookstore.”

“Then can you direct us to one that is?” Urguz finally chimed in, growing impatient with the prissy elf.

* * *

“I’d trade the Horde’s alliance with the blood elves for one with the draenei any day,” Urguz grumbled as they slammed the bookstore’s door behind them. Rokal snickered as he hoisted up the two heavy sacks they’d filled with goods to take back home. “They think they are so much better than we are.”

“Yah…I went out with a draenei woman when I was stationed in Tanaris,” Rokal recalled.

“You’ve slept with half of Kalimdor,” Urguz teased, looking about, trying to find their bearings. The troll shrugged.

“We had fun.”

They began heading down the street.

“You should look her up, see what she’s been up to,” Urguz suggested.

“Yah. Ya hilarious, mon.” A flash of resentment crossed his face. It annoyed him that Urguz probably thought he had more of a right to pursue a relationship with Svanna.

The next bookstore was a goblin-run shop, filled with trinkets and souvenirs that first-time travelers to those regions or to a faction-neutral city tended to gravitate toward. 

“Check these out.” Urguz brandished a large, gaudy tankard at him. “It’s an ‘authentic’ orc tankard: Drink the blood of your enemies like a true warrior.”

“Doesn’t that give ya gas?” Rokal teased. “Lemme guess: da authentic tankard be made in Pandaria.” He scanned the assortment of junk hanging on the walls, between large bookshelves. Urguz searched through a bin and his eyes lit up with amusement. He tilted his head, catching Rokal’s attention. 

“What about this?” He chuckled, holding up a skimpy leather top and undergarment. “Get your partner to dress up as a succubus.”

Rokal snorted lightly.

“Maybe I’ll get it as a gift for Svanna,” he joked.

“She’s not your partner,” Urguz countered quickly. “Besides, I don’t think that’s your size,” he provoked.

“I wouldn’t be wearing it for long…” he insinuated.

Urguz’s gaze grew serious.

“Rok, you don’t know the first thing about being in a serious, committed relationship.”

Rokal’s whirled around to face the orc.

“What ya tryin’ to say?”

“That Svanna is not someone you should toy with. If you’re just attracted to her—”

Rokal stiffened. _Urguz can be such a sanctimonious prick._

“Why do ya think ya have more of a right to be with her?”

“I’ve cared about her from the start.”

“So what? I’m interested in her too. Now.”

Urguz gave him an infuriating look.

“There’s a big difference between being _interested_ in someone and being willing to commit to them.”

Rokal huffed, annoyed.

“I am not as presumptuous as ya. I do not know if she be feelin’ da same or willin’ to entertain anytin’ with someone who isn’t a human. So. I am being careful.”

“Have you ever even been in a serious relationship? Anything that wasn’t just about sex?” he scolded him.

“Ya be right,” Rokal stated angrily. “I haven’t. But I never be wantin' to.” He glanced at the door, a flash of longing in his eyes. “Not until now, that is.”

Urguz’s jaw tensed. An uneasy feeling crept up on him.

_Either way, our lives will be upended. Things will never be the same._

“Looking for anything in particular?” the goblin shopkeeper offered with a mildly peeved look at the two, noticing the tankard and succubus outfit in Urguz’s hands.

“Do you have any books about human customs?” he asked, placing the items down.

“What do you mean by human customs?” she wondered, pursing her lips.

“Like, how do they observe certain traditions… How do they go about certain things.”

“Certain things,” the goblin echoed.

Urguz and Rokal exchanged glances again. 

“How do humans go about… marriage. Betrothals…courtship?” Urguz tried again, tactfully.

The goblin offered them a toothy grin before crossing her arms.

“One of you trying to get it on with a human?” she cackled, amused.

“Ya got a book for us or not?” Rokal spread his arms out in frustration.

“There’s always _Sex in Azeroth_ by Vix Steam—”

“We don’t need a how-to book,” Rokal interrupted, impatient.

“Then let me make a suggestion: you’re a troll,” then she glanced at Urguz, “and you’re an orc. No matter what, it’s gonna be weird if you try to act like humans. Just be on the level with your human. Chances are, if they haven’t run off screaming already, they may listen to what you have to say.”


	10. Rivals

Urguz and Rokal walked back to the tavern where they had left Svanna, each lugging extra bags of supplies. They normally would have prepared for the usual long hike back to the mountain, but Svanna’s injuries made that impossible. They would be hiring wind riders to fly them back; it was a splurge and they were going to make it worth the expense by loading the beasts with extra goods.

“That was a bust.”

“How we gonna be goin’ about this, mon?”

“I don’t know. Let me think about it.”

When they burst through the tavern door, Svanna was nowhere in sight. The mug of tea Svanna had been drinking and the parcels they’d left with her were still at the table. 

“Looking for the miss who left those?” The barkeep nodded, indicating the neatly stacked items. “Said she was going out to fetch something and would be back soon. She’s been gone for a little over an hour now.”

Urguz and Rokal exchanged glances. Urguz frowned, looking at the street outside the large window.

“Should we go find her?”

"Yah."

Just as they began to make their way out, the tavern door swung open again and Svanna stepped inside, her cheeks flushed. A large smile spread across her lips when she saw them.

“Urguz! Rokal!” She was slightly breathless and in her arms she braced a couple of packages. “I’m sorry— I wanted to get a few things before we set out.”

“You could have just asked us— we would have been glad to fetch them for you,” Urguz noted, a flood of relief washing over him upon seeing her safe and sound. 

Her eyes twinkled. “Oh, no: I wanted to get these myself.” 

Both males stood there slightly dumbfounded, struck by how lovely she looked right then, with her bright eyes, rosy skin, and long golden hair cascading over her shoulders. 

“Uh…Shall we head out?” Urguz indicated the door. “The snow is holding off right now— we should take advantage of the break to head home.”

Svanna nodded, smiling. If something was wrong, she would make it better. If she had somehow made them uncomfortable, she would reassure them she had meant no harm. _It will be all right_ , she told herself, giddily clasping her packages. She freed one arm so she could reach for a bundle of sacks to carry.

“Ah, no… We’ll be takin’ that,” Rokal interceded, taking the bags from her hands.

“I can carry my share!” she protested.

Rokal’s gaze softened.

“Ya need to take it easy. Let me do it for ya.”

She lowered her eyes in her usual shy manner and it was killing him not to be able to pull her close. There was a new urgency, a more intense want now that he’d admitted how he felt to Urguz…and to himself, really. 

“Svanna, why don’t you go ahead and meet us outside,” Urguz suggested.

She nodded, pulling the hood of her deep blue cloak up over her head as she stepped out the door again.

Rokal stirred from the brief spell he’d fallen under with a stiff smack to his chest from Urguz.

The orc grimaced, mocking him. “Oh, here! Let me do it for you…” He rolled his eyes.

Rokal slapped back, irritated. 

“What about you?” He began his own imitation of the orc. “I’ll fetch whatever you want… Woof!”

Urguz slapped his arm and Rokal reciprocated, both males looking more and more aggravated with each other. The barkeep cleared his throat and the two paused, suddenly aware of their surroundings. Urguz reached for some coin to settle their tab while Rokal began to collect their bags.

“ _Gezzno_ ,” Urguz mumbled in orcish under his breath.

The edge of Rokal’s lips curled up in a small snarl.

“ _E’chuta_ ,” the troll muttered back in Zandali.

* * *

Svanna stared at the large wind rider right outside the city walls. Rokal and Urguz were negotiating with the flight master animatedly. The winged creatures were fearsome. She had seen plenty of hippogryphs back in Stormwind. She liked watching the graceful creatures glide toward the city’s walls. She had never seen one up close, though, much less _traveled_ on one. Now she was being told she would have to _ride_ a wind rider home. 

“Rokal?” She reached out and touched the troll's shoulder as he walked past her to pick up the last of their supply sacks. “I hope you aren't doing this for my sake. I really don’t mind walking home.”

His brow furrowed.

“Not a chance: ya be too weak. And it would take all day, even if we hired a pack to carry all da things. We take da wind riders: we be home in less than an hour.”

She inhaled deeply, watching the wind rider closest to her shake its thick mane.

“What’s da matter?” he paused.

“I’ve never flown before… Not even hippogryphs.” She looked at him earnestly. “I’m very scared of heights. I never even climbed the Cathedral back in Stormwind to look out at the city because I was so afraid of falling.”

Rokal placed the bag back down and glanced over at Urguz, who was securing their belongings on one of the creatures.

“Ah…” He scratched the back of his neck. “If ya want, ya can be ridin' with me.”

She blinked nervously. He grasped and squeezed her hand reassuringly.

“I won’t let ya fall.”

Something about the way he held her gaze, the way his fingers caressed the back of her hand. Was she just imagining things? She felt another flutter in her stomach.

Urguz peered up from the wind rider, his eyes narrowing when he saw Rokal grasping Svanna's hand. 

“Everything all right?” he called out, storming over, a noticeable edge in his voice. Rokal released her hand. 

“I’m nervous about flying,” she said, flashing him a contrite grin. “But don't worry: Rokal has offered to let me fly with him.”

Rokal caught the almost imperceptible twitch in Urguz’s eye.

“Oh, he _did_?” He scowled at him. “I bet he did.”

“Well, she be coming to _me_ to ask,” he retorted.

Svanna looked between the two. There it was. That strange, unpleasant tension settling among them. They were glaring at each other, wordless understanding passing between them, lost to her.

 _This is war_ , Urguz thought sullenly. He turned to Svanna, conjuring an amiable smile.

“You might prefer to fly with me: my wind rider is bigger," he pointed at a large, husky wind rider. "His saddle will be more comfortable.”

It made perfect sense. Rokal’s jaw tensed, his gaze never leaving Urguz.

“Oh! That might be better—and more comfortable for you, Rokal,” she concluded. 

Urguz offered her his hand. “Here. I’ll help you get ready.”

 _Fucker_ , Rokal thought, poisonous jealousy rising inside him like bile. He went over to his mount and began to check the animal’s saddle, ensuring it was secure and ready for the trip. 

The flight master came running over to them, though, when he saw Urguz help Svanna onto the saddle.

“Wait, wait, wait— hang on! You can’t put that much weight on my wind rider!” the flight master, an orc called Yugrek, warned. 

“I can lighten the load and shift the rest of my cargo to the other wind rider,” Urguz suggested, still clasping Svanna’s hand as if he didn’t want them to take her away from him. “That should lighten the load.”

“Even then! Look at you! You’re not a small orc—that’s asking a lot of my wind riders!” he scolded him. “The woman can ride her own mount.”

Svanna grew pale just at the thought. 

“Look, my wind riders are very tame and all you have to do is hold on to the saddle. Your rider will know to follow the others ahead of him,” Yugar explained to her in a broken Common.

“Urguz, why don’t you ride back with da supplies. I’ll take Svanna home by land,” Rokal offered.

“Why don’t you fly, then? I’ll take her home. I can carry her on my back.”

Svanna shrank away, feeling horrible. They were going through all that confusion and trouble because of her. _I make their lives so much more difficult._

Yugrek looked back at his animals, trying to calculate a way to make that transaction work.

“This is what we are going to do: you are going to take the troll’s mount,” he began, pointing at Urguz. “And the troll will ride with the woman on the mount you were going to take. Like you said, the saddle is bigger and that mount can take more weight. The troll and the woman are less weight than you and the woman. My rider can handle it!” He completed the thought with a friendly pat to the creature's rump. “Just take all the packages off both wind riders and hire a fourth rider to carry your excess packs,” he suggested. “You were going to originally hire out four of my riders, before your companion said she was afraid, anyway…”

“Sounds good to me,” Rokal practically shouted, seizing Svanna’s hand and dragging her to the mount.

* * *

Urguz made sure he was riding ahead. He didn’t want to see Rokal riding with Svanna, his arm wrapped around her, holding her steadily against him, her head nestled against his chest. 

_That should’ve been me_ , he thought crankily. And now he was stuck riding a smaller rider on a tighter saddle. He could feel his resentment growing as they soared over the tree line. He was so upset he could barely take in the stunning wintry scenery below.

* * *

Svanna kept her eyes shut, her head turned to the side, pressed against Rokal’s coat. It was impressive, she had to admit, and the few times she'd managed to peer down revealed breathtakingly beautiful scenery. But it was hardly a smooth ride: the beast rose and dipped with every flap of its wings. When it began to glide, they would lose altitude. It was terrifying. She squeezed Rokal's arm in alarm.

“Ya ok, Svanna?” he asked, speaking closer to her ear, clasping her tighter. 

“I’m so sorry. When I open my eyes, I feel dizzy.”

A cold wind burst past them, causing some mild turbulence. Svanna gasped, squeezing his arm even tighter and Rokal cooed at her in an attempt to calm her nerves.

“It’s ok…It's ok...This be perfectly normal. And we be almost home.”

He was eager to reach their camp, as well. He didn’t want her to be in any further discomfort. But he had to admit, even if a little guiltily, that he was enjoying the ride tremendously. Svanna felt good in his arms. _Da two of us, we fit together well. This feels right_ , he thought with satisfaction.

* * *

Urguz saw the last wind rider off their ledge with a slap to its flank. It flapped its large wings before leaping into the crisp winter air. They had truly lucked out on the weather. He was quite sure, as he examined the dark clouds collecting over the horizon that they would be getting socked with heavy snowfall by the evening. When he turned back, he found Svanna where he had last seen her, still lying stomach down on the ground, her arms outstretched as if she were hugging the floor. 

“I’m so glad to be home,” she sighed. 

“It _is_ good to be back,” he agreed. Rokal was not too far away, organizing some of their supplies and sundries in their storage shed. “Do you feel better?” he wondered.

“I do.” She pushed herself up and sat. “But my back is still aching a bit—not so much from the ride but more from my encounter with the cultists.”

“The healer said you would be in some discomfort. She did give us some potions and unguent for the pain. You did take a beating, Svanna. If you’d like, I can take a look at your injuries and apply the unguent when we head back to the cabin,” he proposed.

They both heard something topple loudly inside the shed. Rokal rushed out.

“Maybe I should be handlin’ that. I am, after all, da mage and have more healin’ skills than ya,” he stated defiantly. 

“I’d imagine you’d be tired after your RIDE,” Urguz insinuated. “Maybe you can let ME help this time.” He was straining against his frustration. But Rokal was not letting up. The troll stood straighter, staring down at Urguz. The orc was more muscular, but the troll was taller. 

_What is wrong with them?_ Svanna worried. She then remembered her parcels.

“Oh! It’s perfect that we are all here now! There is something I need to show you!” she cried out, picking the packages out from the heap of items they'd hauled back. 

Rokal and Urguz did not move, each planted firmly in his spot, staring daggers at the other. Svanna untied the sack the packages were in and pulled out a large square gift box and then a smaller, rectangular gift box. They'd been wrapped in shiny, festive paper and ribbons.

She approached them holding a box in each hand.

“I know you said that the money I earned from the Cartel was mine to keep, but I want to contribute to our household…So I am returning the gold to you,” she began. Urguz and Rokal both turned slowly to look at her. “I did listen, though, when you suggested I spend some of the gold. I hope you don’t mind. These are from me: to you. I couldn’t ever repay your kindness and generosity, but please accept these tokens of my gratitude.” She offered each one a box and then stepped back, her hands clasped behind her back.

“Svanna…you didn’t have to.” Urguz said, genuinely touched, running his hand over the rectangular box.

“When we told ya to keep da gold and spend it, we meant ya should spend it on yasself!” Rokal chided her softly, turning the box side to side.

“Go ahead! Open them!”

Both males fiddled with their packages gingerly, not knowing what to expect.

“Oh, Svanna…” Rokal uttered quietly when he undid the wrapping cloth. Inside a deep blue velvet pouch sat a solid silver box with finely etched filigree work. Inside was a small pack of cheroots—much finer than the ones he usually bought himself. 

“The shopkeeper told me it was a perfect storage box for a mage. You can store reagents, or other things you might want to keep dry for your potions.”

He was deeply touched by the gesture. The box was very fine. It was maybe one of the nicest items he had ever possessed in his itinerant existence. Rokal was about to speak when Urguz interrupted him.

“What are these?” He held up what looked like metal spectacles.

Svanna hurried to his side and unfolded the temple pieces, careful not to touch the crystal lenses.

“They are goblin lunettes! You have been complaining about how your eyes feel tired after reading and the goblin who sold me these told me that the lenses have an enchantment that adjusts their focus to your eyes.” She carefully placed them over his nose, her touch delicate as she hooked them over his long ears. “I am so glad they fit! What do you think?”

“They’re so light!” Urguz marveled. He looked about the room before raising an instruction parchment from the box up to his eyes. “Wow.”

She was beaming.

Urguz slowly took the spectacles off. He folded them carefully before slipping them back into their case. “Svanna, these gifts…They must have cost a lot.”

“You shouldn’t have done that,” Rokal added.

She dropped her gaze to her feet.

“You both deserve so much more.” She inhaled deeply, emotion seeping into her voice. “I’ve never felt happier in my life. Not a day goes by that I don’t feel gratitude for the two of you being in my life.” _Please don’t ever ask me to leave,_ she thought sadly. _My heart would break. I don’t know what I’d do_. “You are both my home: I love you two so much.” She sprung forward, seizing Urguz in a tight embrace. Before he could reciprocate, she slipped away and gave Rokal a tight hug as well. She then pulled away, tearful.

“I’m sorry if I did something wrong. I know I may have overstepped my bounds last night.”

“No, Svanna…” Urguz began to shake his head.

“Things have been so strange among us, all day. I’m sorry. I think the medicine last night made me a bit dazed and…I just wanted to be close to you both after all the horrible things that happened. Please don’t be mad at me—if I did something wrong, I promise I will work harder and do better,” she pleaded. She raised her gloved hand to her lips, a pained look in her eyes. Without a further word, she turned away and began hurrying toward the cabin.

“Svanna—” Urguz called out again. She tried to wave before disappearing through the door. 

Wordlessly, Urguz looked down at his spectacles’ case. Rokal had hung his head despondently as well.

“We’re idiots.” Urguz looked up. “We’ve been squabbling all day and the only thing we managed to accomplish is to hurt the one person we both care about.”

“She be so upset. What should we do?”

Urguz sighed loudly.

“We need to tell her the truth, Rok. We need to tell her how we feel…And then, all we can do is let her decide.”

Rokal remained silent.

“Urguz…I’m sorry.”

The orc glanced at his oldest friend.

“I know. Me too.”

“I don’t want to be fightin’ with ya.”

“Isn’t that one of the rules of friendship— never argue over a woman?” He grinned weakly.

Rokal snorted lightly.

“Listen, if Svanna be choosin' ya, I will be respectin’ her choice… And I will be happy for ya.”

“Yeah. Same here.”

“But I want ya to know somethin’… If she be choosin’ you, I may be havin’ to go away for a while.”

Urguz’s brow furrowed.

“What? Why?”

“I will be needin’ a little time. Just some time. To let it go, ya see.” Rokal glanced toward the cottage, his heart heavy. “I care for her, Urguz. But if she doesn’t be wantin’ me as her partner, I will need to make peace with it.” He looked at the orc again. “And I will. Because I be wantin’ what be best for her. And if she won’t be with me, bein’ with ya is da only sensible alternative. Ya be a good orc.”

“I understand. I really do. And I might have to do the same...if she doesn't choose me." Urguz lowered his eyes, emotion overcoming him. "I was wrong.”

“Ah, this be rare. About what?”

“You do love her,” he replied, a sad grin on his lips.

Rokal returned the grin. He meant it. Every word. He loved Urguz and he loved Svanna...and would continue to do so regardless…Only, he would have to make peace with the fact she didn’t feel the same way about him. Not in that way, at least.

He exhaled heavily. Urguz extended his hand.

“Friends?”

“Always, ya asshole.” Rokal clasped the hand and pivoted to give him a hug and a slap to his back.


	11. Decisions

When Svanna woke up the following morning, she noticed Urguz hadn’t slept in his bed. She fell back in her cot once she folded up the dividing screen, staring at the undisturbed bed across the way. It was strange—she hadn’t heard him, as she normally did. If he had still been asleep, she would have heard him breathing soundly. If he had awakened earlier, she would have heard him stepping about the cabin. But the cabin had been too quiet.

And she was alone.

A terrible dread took over her as she prepared to get breakfast. She worried about what she would find once she stepped out of the cabin. She grew angry at herself.

 _One stupid moment of forgetting my place_ … she scolded herself. 

When she stepped outside, Rokal and Urguz were sitting around the fire, finishing their breakfast. Upon seeing her, both males nodded and smiled.

“Good morning, Svanna. Ya be wantin’ da usual?” Rokal wondered, lifting the kettle off the fire. She nodded.

“How are you feeling today?” Urguz asked.

She rubbed her arm vigorously, as if trying to conjure up some warmth.

“Much better, thank you.”

She sat down across from them and watched Rokal pour her a cup of tea. Everyone was unusually quiet.

“Thank you,” she uttered taking the cup from his hands. Rokal fussed with the kettle some more while Urguz maintained his eyes lowered. 

“Urguz,” she began slowly, mustering the courage to ask. “Did you not sleep in the cabin last night?”

The orc exchanged glances with the troll.

“Uh…No, Svanna. I stayed in Rokal’s cabin.”

She tried to maintain her composure.

“Is anything the matter?”

He remained silent.

“Ah…Svanna, we be meanin’ to talk to ya about somethin’” Rokal began.

There it was. The moment she had been dreading. She blinked, and despite herself, her eyes began to sting with tears.

“I think I already know what it is. And let me spare you from having to deliver such a blow: you’re going to ask me to leave. And I understand,” she tried to state gracefully.

Both looked at her in confusion.

“What?”

“No! It’s not that at all!”

She was not one bit reassured. “Then what is going on?” 

Silence.

Svanna felt her stomach drop again. 

Urguz cleared his throat.

“All right… Well, here’s the thing, Svanna… Rokal and I…We have been talking. And we agree that the time you have spent with us has been…wonderful. And during that time, as we have gotten to know you better…We have both…” He cleared his throat again. “Developed feelings for you.”

She tried to follow, not quite grasping what they were saying as she was trying to decipher her eviction notice.

“We have developed… _strong_ feelings for you.” He paused. “Both of us.”

She was still confused.

“What Urguz be sayin’, Svanna, is that both of us would like to be more than a friend to ya.”

She tilted her head.

“But that’s…You are both more than friends already: you are my family. There’s no one else in the world who is as dear to me as the two of you are.”

“Yes, that is true for me, too. But…Let me put it in plainer terms: during this time, I have fallen in love with you. And I would honored if you would consider having me as your mate,” Urguz declared.

“Mate?” She blinked slowly.

“What do you humans say: husband?”

Rokal quickly interrupted.

“I have fallen in love with you, as well, Svanna. I’d like ya to consider choosin’ me as your… partner.”

Svanna couldn’t quite understand what had just happened. From eviction to… proposals?

“Maybe this is sudden. We understand if you want time to think about it. But we know we have been acting oddly around you and we wanted to tell you how we felt before there were any misunderstandings.”

“And we want ya to know: whether ya choose me or choose Urguz, we will be respectin’ ya decision.”

She had to grip the edge of her stool, or she would have toppled over.

“We will remain friends, no matter what,” Urguz assured her. “You will never lose that. From either one of us.”

At her stupefaction, Rokal leaned toward her.

“Svanna?”

She finally looked up at him.

“Ya all right?”

“I don’t know.”

She stood as if in a trance and slowly made her way to the cabin.

When she shut the door, Urguz pressed his lips tightly.

“How do you think that went?”

Rokal stared at the cabin door, a sudden realization worrying him.

“Urguz, did we make a mistake?…”

“Huh?”

“What if we be pressuring her and in reality she doesn’t want to be with either one of us?”

“Oh.” He glanced at the cabin. “Do you think she feels cornered? Should I go talk to her?”

Rokal shook his head, his heart sinking.

“Nah. Let her be for a bit. She be talkin’ to us when she be ready.”

* * *

Svanna lay in her cot. When she inhaled deeply, the odor of smoke and dried herbs tickled her nose. 

Both males had fallen in love. With _her_. And they wanted her to _choose_ between them?

She rolled on her stomach.

_And I have to choose?_

_How?_

She rubbed her head.

Urguz was caring, responsible... He was warm, gentle, and attentive. She loved talking to him and hearing all his stories about his travels or the people he’d met. She loved the warmth in his eyes. She had no doubt he would be a dedicated husband: loyal, eager to satisfy her every whim. In his company she felt cherished. He respected her and treated her with consideration… _Probably more than I deserve_. She could see herself very easily with Urguz.

She rolled around again, settling on her back.

Rokal…Rokal was playful, clever, and witty. He was able to coax her into talking about herself because he always listened so closely, so interestedly. It was as if he anticipated how she felt. She always had fun with him. He always succeeded in pulling her out of her funks and self-pitying moments with his good natured teasing. As a husband, she was sure he would make her happy. They never ran out of things to talk about and there would always be laughter, because they got along well and easily. She could also see herself with Rokal. 

She remained in that back and forth for a long time. Just when she thought she had made her mind about one of them, her heart would start aching for the other. 

She wouldn’t be losing either one of them, she reminded herself. They would all remain friends.

Right?

 _Svanna_ , _you are going to break up this friendship_ , came the warning in her head. _You are going to force change_.

_Perhaps they would be better off without me. I have just barreled into their lives making everything difficult for them. They were so happy before— and free. And here I come in and upend everything._

_I can’t choose. I can’t do this._

She dropped her head into her hands.

* * *

“She hasn’t come out all day,” Urguz worried, glancing toward the cabin for the hundredth time. 

“Give her time.”

“What if you’re right? What if she is terrified, thinking she HAS to choose one of us?”

The troll exhaled heavily, leaning against the wall of his cabin. A snowstorm churned overhead, but with his magic, he’d managed to create a dome around the ledge where their camp was, ensuring that they remained dry and shielded from the whipping winds. It was beautiful to watch. It was as though they were inside an inverted snow globe. He watched snowflakes dance overhead and became lost in thought for a bit.

“All right, Urguz,” he decided. “Why don’t ya check in on her. Tell her that she doesn’t have to be choosin’ at all. And that we will be fine if she doesn’t feel that way about us. We’ll think of her as…as our _sister_.”

“Fuck,” Rokal snorted, amused. “It be just wrong to be havin’ such thoughts about ya sister, mon!”

Urguz chuckled too. 

“Yeah…But…Like you said, I want her to be happy. And having her here, with us, makes everything better, doesn’t it?”

“Yah. No question.”

“Ok, so…” He brushed his hands over his trousers. “Let’s sort this out. I need to go to Durotar in a few days and want to be able leave after she's given us an answer.”

“Wait…but if she be choosin’ ya…Ya still be goin’ to Durotar for da entire winter?”

Urguz pressed his lips tightly.

“If Svanna chooses me…I didn’t give this much thought, to be honest.”

“Hm?”

“I figured maybe we could stay in Everlook for a bit…and then, once I settled her there properly, I’d head home.” He lowered his eyes. “You can keep the camp. And maybe, we can see how things go— you might be able to check on her when I’m away?”

“Ya mean, steal her away from ya?” Rokal teased. Urguz tossed a scrap of firewood at him. “Yah. We can see how things go.” He looked around the camp. “I dunno if I’m gonna be wantin’ to stay here alone, anyway.”

“Where will you go?”

“Well, IF she choses ya…I will stay here for a while. I think I could use da solitude. Then… Maybe I’ll get something near Everlook. Ya know I don’t like livin’ in town. I don’t think I have thought about it that much… Would ya still be wantin' to work together?” he asked earnestly.

“I…I think so. I mean, this work is what we both do best.”

Rokal nodded.

“Besides, if we be quittin’, we would never hear da end of it from Zee.”

Urguz grinned.

“I can hear him already: ‘I told you that woman was trouble!’”

They fell silent. They were both nervous—not just to know what Svanna was thinking, but also over the realization that it was likely their lives were about to change so much so dramatically. When they had set off on their Cartel mission, just a couple days ago, they couldn’t have imagined such an outcome.

“Ok. I’m going to go talk to her,” Urguz decided.

“I’ll be out here.” He waved his friend off.

* * *

The knock startled Svanna from the restless slumber she’d fallen into. She raised her head and wiped her puffy eyes. 

“Svanna?” 

She walked to the door, flinging it open. Urguz stood before her and she could see the concern in his eyes. She felt at once beloved and terrible for placing him and Rokal in that predicament.

“Come,” she indicated the tidy cabin. He stepped inside.

“I wanted to see how you were doing. You left kind of quickly… We were wondering if you wanted to talk. Rokal and I are worried that maybe we…” He inhaled deeply. “Maybe we are pressuring you to make a choice you may not want.”

She folded her hands behind her back and leaned against the wall as she listened.

“We wanted to be honest with you. And we wanted to be fair with each other. Maybe we are going about it in the wrong way…But we wanted you to know how we feel. And if you don’t feel the same way, that is fine. But if you think you would like to choose between us…We’d like to know,” he said gently. 

Svanna nodded.

“Can you at least let me know if you are not interested in either one of us? I promise you, we’ll be all right either way—”

_How can he be so certain of that?_

She had spent the last few hours plumbing the depths of her heart, sorting through her thoughts and memories and after all that, the final conclusion she had reached was that she was truly a terrible and selfish woman. She would show them just how selfish she was and then, when they had seen how she truly was— 

_I will leave them alone. They will be fine and better off._  
  
“I’ve made up my mind.” She wiped her nose on the back of her hand with a sniff.

Urguz flashed her a pained look.

“Already?”

She nodded.

“Should I call Rokal?”

She nodded again, her lip quivering.

* * *

She sat on her cot as she faced both males. Urguz sat on the edge of his bed and Rokal had pulled up a wooden chair. His heart was pounding even though he appeared calm. In minutes their fortunes would be revealed. It was a bittersweet moment, Rokal thought. Either way, after that moment, nothing would be the same. And he was quite sure Urguz was experiencing the same anxiety. They waited, watching Svanna as she appeared to be collecting her thoughts. 

“I wanted you both to know that I have thought carefully about what you said…Your offers. Both of them,” she began. Urguz was watching her intently, but Rokal averted his eyes, bracing himself. “I don’t know why either one of you would want me as a wife and I am touched that you see me as someone worthy of standing by your side.” Rokal ventured a glimpse. She looked so nervous, he thought with a squeeze to his heart. She really didn’t think much of herself and it made him terribly sad that she kept knocking herself down. “So, I’ve made a decision,” she said at last.

It was almost cruel, Urguz thought, his jaw tensing.

“My decision is that I can't choose one of you. I can’t. I love you both and even though I love you both for different reasons, it is an equal love.”

Rokal caught the look of befuddlement on Urguz’s face. 

“What are ya sayin’, Svanna. Are ya sayin’ that ya just want to stay da way we be now? Because…Ya don’t have to choose. Ya be home.”

“What I am saying is that I can't choose because I choose you both. I accept you both.”

The only sound in the cabin was the fire crackling in the hearth.

“Wait…wait…What are you saying? Are you saying you will be both Rokal and my wife?” Urguz blurted.

She nodded, her face turning red. 

“Oh.” He leaned back, looking completely stupefied.

“Is it so wrong, though? Like you have said, we are already a family. I don’t see what difference it makes, really. We would all still be able to be together!” she reasoned.

Urguz looked at Rokal, who hadn’t uttered a word.

“What would change among us?” Svanna insisted. “Would it really change that much?”

“Well, I don’t know…I don’t know that I would be able to share you like that with Rokal. Not when it comes to…uh…more intimate…You know!” Urguz stammered, nervous.

Svanna continued to look at him with an expectant expression, apparently not grasping his meaning.

“Why not?” Svanna protested. “Why? I love you, Urguz. And I love you, Rokal. Is that wrong? Why do I have to choose? There is no scarcity of love,” she argued.

“Svanna,” Rokal finally spoke. He pondered his words carefully. “Do ya understand what ya be proposing to us?”

“I will be your and Urguz’s mate. That’s like a wife, correct?”

Both males nodded.

“And we can continue to live here, together, like we always have!”

“But do you understand what such a partnership means?” he continued, intrigued. “What does such a thing mean to…humans? No, no: to you.”

She blinked quickly, thinking over Rokal’s question.

“It’s a partnership. My mistress used to say that marriage among nobles was first about joining estates and lands and that among the other classes it was a way to survive. If people were lucky, it became about love. And… We already love each other. It won’t be much different from how things are now, except that we can’t have children…So, why can’t we be married to each other if we already are, in a matter of speaking?” she insisted.

Both males said nothing, stupefied by her conclusion.

“Uh…Svanna…Who told you that we can’t have children?”

She furrowed her brow.

“It’s impossible. I was told Horde and Alliance are too different. We can’t…erm…be together… like that. Right?”

Rokal cleared his throat and Urguz exhaled. She had _no_ idea. That, they hadn’t anticipated.

“Actually, orcs and humans can… be together…in that way… like you put it. There is such a thing as half-orcs.”

“And while they may not be able to be havin’ children, trolls and other races can also ‘be together’,” Rokal insinuated.

Svanna looked at them in confusion.

Urguz was about to say something, but Rokal signaled to him. He had a nagging suspicion that Svanna did not quite understand what was happening.

“Svanna…What do ya mean by ‘bein’ together’?” 

It was Svanna’s turn to become bright red.

“Well, it is what needs to be done for there to be children.”

 _'What needs to be done_.' _Oh, Spirits!_ Rokal resisted the urge to slap his forehead.

“Have you ever ‘been together’ with anyone before?” Urguz ventured. Rokal cast him a scolding look. The answer was obvious.

“No! Never. It’s for making children only. That’s what makes the pain of it bearable.” She looked at them in confusion, as if she were stating the obvious. 

Rokal couldn’t believe his ears. 

“Who be tellin’ ya that?”

“My mother!”

Urguz held his breath. They would have to tread very carefully.

“And what if I be tellin’ ya that ‘being together’ is usually part of being in a relationship...a marriage… and not just for havin’ children,” Rokal stated slowly. 

Svanna stared at him as if he had just said something incomprehensible.

“But…I don’t see how,” she told him, confused. “It can’t be that important, right?” She ventured a look at Urguz.

“You are right to some extent: a good marriage is many things: mostly friendship, trust, and love.”

Svanna smiled.

“But… The… ‘being together’…sex… That can be nice too.”

“I don’t see how.”

“It isn’t just for children. It is a way you can…show, physically, how much you love someone.”

“But there are so many ways of expressing love,” she insisted.

Urguz nodded. “Yes, you are right.

“It doesn’t have to be important, right?”

“Svanna, you don’t have to do anything you don’t want to,” Urguz stated calmly. “No one is going to force you to do what you don’t want to.”

“There be some people who aren’t interested in havin’ sex…And they be choosin’ to express their love in other ways. And that is fine. Ya have to be true to who ya be.”

“Is it that important? To you?” she asked. “To both of you? You two live here, alone, with each other. You don’t seem to need sex!”

Urguz cleared his throat. She was innocent. Too innocent.

“It’s true that we are quite isolated here…But before you arrived, we’d go to Everlook on occasion—”

“And not just to be gettin’ supplies,” Rokal interrupted, not willing to go into detail about those ‘excursions’.

She looked distressed, wringing her hands, her head downcast.

“Will you still want to be my husbands if I don’t want to be that way with you?”

“Urguz.” Rokal signaled to his friend. “Svanna, can Urguz and I have a moment to talk to each other?”

She nodded, tiredly.


	12. An Agreement

Back in Rokal’s cabin, Urguz crossed his arms tightly.

“What the ever-living fuck."

"What did her mother be sayin’ to her?” Rokal complained.

“I suspected she was very inexperienced.”

“This be _beyond_ inexperienced! She be terrified even of da _idea_ of sex! How are we going to be havin’ a proper marriage with her?”

_“We?”_ Urguz arched an eyebrow. “So you are considering her counter offer?” 

Rokal sighed. 

“My mother be one of three wives my father be havin’. It’s not unheard of or unusual, ya know.” 

“Yeah, but if I remember well, she did not have any choice in the matter. Your grandfather gave her as a gift to your father,” Urguz grumbled.” Besides, the Darkspear have been getting rid of all those ‘traditions’.”

“Yah…It be true, about my parents. No big love lost there.”

“I mean… do you really think could we do it?” He eyed his friend warily. 

“Fucked-up troll customs aside, it has been known to happen.”

“Maybe males with several mates. Not females with several mates. It usually be happenin' when a clan or tribe has an unusually low number of females to males. It’s survival. And unconventional.”

“And we be conventional?” He chuckled. “If ya didn't have a problem with homesteads in Echo Islands where a troll had three or four wives, then what be da problem then with a homestead with one wife and two husbands?”

“It’s just not…” Urguz’s voice trailed off as he wrestled with the idea.

“Not tradition, mon? I think tradition be an excuse to keep forcin’ people to do things they would rather not.”

Urguz rubbed his temples, a tell that he was conflicted.

“I don’t know… You are my best friend— hell, we are brothers. But I don’t know if I can share the woman I love with another male.”

Rokal inhaled deeply.

“Why?”

“Because… I wouldn’t be comfortable with my female having sex and caring about another male.”

“Hmm… _Ya_ female?” he raised an eyebrow. “Like, ya be _owning_ her?”

“No!”

“Controlin’ her?”

“No!” Urguz insisted, annoyed, not quite sure how to articulate what he was feeling. “You know what I mean!” He huffed.

“And what if da other male be me? Would ya still feel threatened?”

“I don’t feel threatened!” 

“I think ya need to be reexamining ya beliefs there.”

“Maybe…But it is a moot point now.”

“What do ya mean?” 

“We’ve gone from having to contend with the thought of the woman we both love having sex with both of us to not having sex with either one of us. Ever. It’s not funny! What kind of fucked up life was Svanna leading in Stormwind? A young girl who lived with her prude of a mother who taught her nothing about life!” He rubbed his knuckles. “What do you want to do?”

“Svanna doesn’t know what she doesn’t know,” Rokal concluded simply.

“And what the hell is that supposed to mean?”

“How does she know she doesn’t like somethin’ until she be tryin’ it?”

“Yes, but didn’t you hear her? Even the IDEA—” 

A knock interrupted them.

“Yes?” Urguz called out warily. “Come in!”

Svanna opened the door, looking miserable. 

“I can’t stand it. I can’t. If it’s that important to you, I’ll do it. Please. I want to be with you. Both of you. I’m willing to try.”

* * *

She had never really spent much time in Rokal’s cabin. It was different from Urguz’s. It was a bit smaller, but the space was used differently. His bed was built in a kind of alcove, behind heavy drapery. The walls were lined with shelves filled with books, scrolls, and different trinkets. Like Urguz, Rokal had dried herbs and flowers hanging from his rafters. It was more cluttered than Urguz’s cabin, but it was cheerful and cozy. They sat around a small table stationed next to the fire.

“You shouldn’t feel like you need to change for our sakes,” Urguz repeated. “We can live here, like this, together. We are very happy the way things are now. We had just wondered if maybe you felt the same way. But… We love you too, Svanna.” He smiled.

“But you both asked me to be your wife.”

“We can pretend it never be happenin’,” Rokal suggested. But it didn’t feel right. “Just give us a little time.”

“Time for what?”

“To let go of those…thoughts and feelings. To begin thinkin’ of ya differently.”

“Thinking of me how?” she wondered.

“Ah…Not too differently: we be already good friends, right? I just need to stop…” He paused, thinking of how to convey the thought more tactfully. The truth was that he was very attracted to her. He liked the idea of establishing that kind of intimacy and closeness with her. “Wanting ya to be my wife. That be all.”

She listened, a turmoil of emotions swirling inside her as fiercely as the storm buffeting the magic dome protecting their camp. All her life she had believed her mother, her warnings, her explanations about such matters. 

Right then, though, looking at both Urguz and Rokal, she was very confused. And conflicted. 

“But can we at least try?” she blurted out. “We could see how it works out, right?”

Urguz shifted in his chair, rubbing his forehead. 

“What ya be proposing to us?” Rokal wondered, his eyes narrowing.

“I am willing to try…If you will both help me. I admit…I don’t understand why it is so important. It does scare me. But…” she reached out across the table and slipped her hands into theirs. “I trust you both,” she said in soft voice. Urguz squeezed her hand, moved by her words. Rokal, however, was more wary.

“Svanna, ya want to go from wanting nothin’ to do with sex…to having sex with not one but _two_ males? Not even _human_ males? I don’t know about this. I be thinkin’ we settin’ up for disaster. At least right now, we can be movin’ forward without much harm. But once sex be involved, it be gettin’ complicated.”

Urguz grinned.

“One of Rokal’s great conclusions is that everything gets complicated. He says that a lot.”

“What? It be true!” he argued.

“Can we at least try?” Svanna gripped his hand tighter.

Urguz looked pleadingly at Rokal.

“Please?” she insisted. “I think if we are honest with each other… Maybe we can sort this out.”

Maybe she could endure it for their sakes. She certainly loved them enough. 

***

“All right.” The hour was getting late and Urguz peered down at a sheet of parchment after they had each proposed and discussed some ground rules. He adjusted the spectacles Svanna had given him and noticed her grinning broadly at him, pleased he was using her gift. “We will agree to an arrangement among us for a period of time to see how things might work out before we make any kind of more formal, permanent commitment to each other,” he stated. Both Rokal and Svanna nodded. “Here is what we agreed on: Svanna will be both my and Rokal’s wife and she will do her best to treat us equally.” He looked up and both of them nodded again. “Should she decide at any time that she prefers one over the other more, she will inform us of that.”

“It won’t happen,” she quipped. Rokal shushed her.

“Now, this part is very important in preventing misunderstandings and resentment: we promise to be honest with each other. Any perceived slights or grievances must be communicated quickly and openly so they can be addressed. And we agree to always give each other the benefit of the doubt and not leap to assumptions before asking for an explanation and sharing our feelings.”

Everyone agreed when Urguz glanced up again. 

“Good. Now…Svanna will live in both our cabins. She can decide to spend however many nights she wants with one of us…as long as she also spends an equal amount of nights with the other.”

“I am going to spend one night with you and then the other with you,” she explained, pointing, in a her chipper manner. Urguz chuckled and Rokal sighed deeply.

“Again, we will communicate about the living arrangements… but ultimately, Svanna will make the decision. Nothing can occur without her permission and consent. She will make her wants and needs known.” He glanced at Rokal. “The same applies to us.”

“Good, because I wouldn’t consent to any funny business with ya,” Rokal teased Urguz.

Urguz snorted, shaking his head.

At this, she looked down at her hands again. 

“All of this is fine with me.”

“We will try this marriage arrangement for…six months.”

“Ya sure? Three of those months ya gonna be in Durotar,” Rokal noted. Urguz removed his spectacles and rubbed his eyes tiredly. 

“What choice do I have? I have to go.” He looked at Svanna wistfully. “ But perhaps… Svanna, would you consider staying with me until my departure?”

Svanna peered at his earnest light green eyes and nodded.

“Rokal, would that be all right with you?” She touched his wrist.

“Sure,” he said after a moment. 

They went over a few other practicalities. When Urguz finished, he handed the parchment to Svanna, for her to sign. She dipped the quill in the inkwell and scratched the nib over the vellum, scribbling out her name. Rokal signed after her, and Urguz signed last. The three of them stared at the makeshift contract they drafted. It wasn’t a legal binding document that was enforceable. But it might as well have been. All they had was the promise they had given to honor that contract.

And it was more than enough.

“So, do we start tonight?” she wondered.

Caught by surprise, Urguz had a coughing fit.


	13. First Night

_There is nothing awkward about sleeping in this cabin with Svanna. She and I have shared it for a long time._

He kept repeating those words as they made their way back to the cabin. 

_How did acting naturally work again?_

Once inside, he sat down to pull off his boots. When he peered up, he saw Svanna begin to fold the screen that divided the main room into distinct spaces.

“Uh…What are you doing?”

“We are husband and wife now. I should sleep in your bed, right?” Her cheeks were red and she was visibly nervous.

“Only if you want to. You really don’t have to.”

“I do. It’s what married people do.”

He couldn’t help grinning. “Good to know,” he said, despite the tension in the room.

She nodded again.

“You can take the cot and put it away, too.”

 _Burn all bridges! There will be no retreat!_ He thought she sounded like an orc commander just then.

She grabbed her nightshirt from the hook behind the door and a few other items 

“I’ll be right back,” she stated shyly, slipping out the door and heading to the rustic bath they had established in the camp. 

Urguz exhaled heavily before tossing some firewood in the hearth. 

He’d have to proceed slowly, gently with her. And he was certainly not going to try anything with her that night. He changed quickly into the tunic and breeches he wore to sleep and eyed the cot, wanting to dismantle it as well. He decided he would leave it where it was: a gesture meaning that any retreat on her part would not be construed as an offense. He wandered over to the small washbasin on the wooden dresser he’d built, splashing water over his face and cleaning his teeth. He was toweling off his face, rubbing his hand over his slight stubble, when the lock popped up and Svanna stepped into the room in her long flannel nightshirt and woolen coat. Urguz smiled.

“Ready for bed?”

She grinned weakly. 

He turned the covers down and got into the bed. He pat the spot next to him, encouraging her, and then opened the leather-bound book he’d started a few days earlier. He figured she would be more at ease if he just went about their regular routine—and he always read a little before going to sleep. She hung up her wool coat, placed her belongings on the table, and made her way to the bed, her eyes downcast.

“I’m ready.” Just as he looked up at her, she pulled her nightshirt up over her head and slipped into the bed beside him. She lay on her back, her hands neatly folded over her stomach, her eyes fixed on the ceiling, blinking rapidly.

Urguz froze. Yes, she was _naked_ —and she was beautiful. He couldn't help noticing her small, pert breasts, rounded hips, the soft patch of hair between her long legs…

He cleared his throat.

“Right.” He pulled the covers back up, shielding her. “Svanna, what do you think you are doing?”

She cast him a sheepish look.

“This is what married folk are supposed to do, isn’t it?”

“Yes, but you do not need to do this…like this.”

“Did I do something wrong?” she wondered. She glanced at her nightshirt at the foot of the bed. “Perhaps you would prefer to disrobe me?”

 _Oh yes: it would be like unwrapping a precious gift_ , he thought, briefly thinking back to her naked- but not if she was behaving like a martyr about to be sacrificed to the god of lust.

“Don’t you want to have sex with me?” she insisted.

“Not like this,” he said in a gentler tone.

“What’s wrong?” She was clearly frustrated.

“Why don’t you get dressed and we’ll talk.”

He picked his book up and pretended to read. She stirred beside him and he could just see her out of the corner of his eyes as she reached for her nightshirt and pulled it back on.

She fell back into the bed despondently and he finally looked at her.

“Svanna—”

“I’m sorry I am such a failure.”

“You’re not a failure.”

“I am so ill-suited for…everything.” Her voice began to quaver.

“You are not failure. And you haven’t had the easiest life. It’s not your fault.”

“Do you regret this?” A tear rolled down her cheek.

“No. Do you?” he asked softly. He stretched out his arm. “Can we hold each other?”

She sniffed and after a few seconds of deliberation, slid close to him, placing her head on his shoulder. 

He could feel how tense she was. He felt a pang of sadness. 

“I’m not giving up on you, Svanna. So don’t give up on yourself.” He caressed her face, her hair, very tenderly, before planting a small kiss on her forehead.

They remained that way in silence for a while. He was almost asleep when she ventured a caress of her own— she placed her hand over his tunic, stroking his chest.

 _It feels nice_ , Urguz thought, placing his hand over hers, right over his heart.

* * *

She couldn’t sleep: her heart was pounding. She was sharing a bed with _Urguz_. She was now his _wife_ , his _mate_. As the fire crackled and the shadows danced on the cabin’s walls, his gentle stroking of her face, his hand running over her long hair, grew slower until they stopped. She soon heard his deep, even breathing, the telltale sign that he had fallen asleep. She ventured a peek at him, raising her head from his shoulder. She looked at him for a long time, a sweet ache in her heart, trying to imagine how things would change between them— when would their bond grow deeper? How soon until she felt at ease, comfortable, that routine natural to them? 

_May this be the first of a lifetime of nights together_ , she hoped, contemplating the face she adored. She rested her head back on his shoulder, drawing herself closer to him, her arm braced across the hard, muscular torso and finally closed her eyes.

* * *

  
Rokal sipped his coffee as casually as he could as he examined the couple. He was terribly curious to know how things had gone with Urguz and Svanna the previous night. He was on the lookout for small, subtle signs that betrayed a newly established closeness. It was hard to determine anything, though, because Svanna was always sweet and Urguz was a big idiotic sap when it came to romance and probably would have beamed beatifically at her even if she poured hot coffee over his crotch. Was there something different between them that morning?  
 _Maybe._  
He did catch their gaze lingering longer than before and some small, charged silences between them. And she was smiling easily, being attentive to him. 

_Ugh. Is it too early to be mixin' some dwarven keg powder whiskey in my coffee?_ he thought, feeling a little bit jealous. 

After breakfast, Svanna went back to the cabin and Rokal finally found himself alone with Urguz.

“When do ya take off?” Rokal wondered, lighting up a cheroot and taking a deep puff.

“The day after tomorrow. In the morning.”

“So soon?” He tipped the ashes, exhaling a cloud of grey smoke.

“I’m worried that if I wait too long, I’ll be stranded for weeks.” He glanced toward the magic dome sheltering them. Outside, the storm still raged. “Look at that. It’s already the first big winter storm of the season. That is not a good portent.”

“Ya right.” Rokal passed him a cup of freshly brewed coffee. “It be startin’ early this year.”

“Maybe I’ll be able to get back earlier.”

Rokal chuckled.

“Not if ya sister be havin’ any say over that.”

Urguz cracked a smile.

“That orcess could topple a fel reaver just with a look,” he joked. Rokal chuckled. He knew his friend’s fierce older sister well: a force to be reckoned with even when they were children. She had taken over the family’s homestead when their parents grew too old to run it themselves. In exchange for a percentage from the sale of their crops, Urguz would work for a season at the homestead. The climate in Durotar was hot and arid year-round. There was plenty to do: maintenance of their irrigation levees and gates, fields that needed fertilizing, planning for crop rotations… And it was the one chance he had every year of seeing his clan again and getting a sense of the political situation in Orgrimmar.

They sat in silence, holding their thoughts until Rokal spoke up.

“I been meaning to ask ya… How did things go with Svanna last night?”

Urguz raised an eyebrow as he took another sip of coffee.

“Expect twins late in the summer,” he announced.

Rokal grimaced.

“Ya be an asshole, mon.”

Urguz chuckled. He peered over his shoulder furtively before leaning closer to Rokal.

“She was petrified. I get being nervous and anxious about the first time…But this? We have to help her undo all these beliefs and misconceptions she was fed all her life. The way she was raised in ignorance is criminal.” He stared at the fire before sighing. “She is determined to try, though. She _did_ sleep in my bed.”

Rokal fought the twinge of jealousy he felt at Urguz’s words. Things were not going to work if they were going to act possessively. And they would not be helping Svanna at all.

“I want her to get comfortable. I don’t want her to be scared of me.”

Rokal nodded slowly.

“Yah. We have to be takin' it slow.”

* * *

“You leave after tomorrow?” Svanna asked, betraying distress at the revelation. Urguz looked up from the large bag he’d retrieved from one of the cupboards.

“Mm. I can’t take the chance that I’ll be stranded. There are only a few passes that remain open during the season and there’s no guarantee they’ll yield passage in this weather. With the storms starting so early…I need to go before they get truly worse.” He lowered the bag to examine her. “Are you all right staying here while I am away?”

“Yes,” she stated, resolutely. “Rokal and I will take care of the camp.”

“I have no doubt you will.”

“When will you return?”

“In two and a half to three months. It depends on how things go back in Durotar.”

“So long!” she lamented.

He pointed at the wardrobe in the corner.

“Could you please grab me the stack of tunics on the shelf?”

She nodded. She collected the tunics and brought them to him. He grinned and stuffed them at the bottom of his bag. “Let me see…what else?…”

“Urguz?”

He looked at her.

“Are you disappointed in me?” she asked quietly. 

He widened his eyes in surprise.

“No. Why would you think that?”

“Because you are leaving soon and we haven’t… _you know_.”

“Are you worried about that? Because I am not. Things will happen when the time is right,” he reassured her.

But she didn’t smile. In her eyes was a sadness that broke his heart.

He wished she would tell him what weighed so heavily on her so that whatever it was, he could take the opportunity to affirm to her again how much he loved her, how much he adored her, and how he truly believed that in time things would get better. Instead, he reached out for her hand and brought it to his lips.

 _I don’t deserve his kindness and love_ , she thought guiltily. _He deserves someone who can love him properly. He leaves in the morning and I can barely bring myself to sleep by his side._

As he stood, he pulled her into an embrace and she let him wrap his strong arms around her, closing her eyes tightly, holding back her tears.


	14. Truth

Svanna leaned against the cabin’s doorway despondently as Urguz sorted noisily through a box of left-over weapon parts outside. Urguz liked tinkering, building prototypes, experimenting with schematics. He had a small workbench inside the shed and he spent several hours a day there working on enhancing weapons and other gadgets.

“Ya would think he’d been reared by gnomes…”

Svanna startled when she saw Rokal walk up to her, offering her a warm cup of tea.

“Thank you.” She took the cup from his large hand.

“Ya be ok?” he wondered.

“I didn’t realize he was leaving so soon!”

“Eh, it goes by quickly,” he assured her. “Besides, I be keepin’ ya _very_ busy while he be gone,” he added slyly.

She looked at him with a spooked expression.

_Ah, fuck! That didn’t come out right—she probably be imaginin’ I be a pervert now._

“We gonna be makin’ some preserves…. and saltin’ some fish…smoking da meats…preparing some potions…” He rubbed his chin as if in deep thought. “And ya gonna have to wash all da dishes and pots…”

“Basically, you are going to make a mess and I'll have to clean up after you,” she teased.

“I be a misunderstood artist.” He sighed. She finally cracked a smile.

“An _artist_ now? Is that what we are calling it?” She laughed and he pretended to be annoyed at her.

 _That be better_.

He had seen her looking so sad from his window and could barely stand it. 

* * *

That night, Svanna filled the tub like she always did, placing her towel and clothes on a bench. The bath was really a shack next to the outhouse, but it was still a small marvel. Urguz and Rokal had managed to tap into a subterranean spring and as a result, they had running water in the camp. A large wooden tub sat in the room. Rokal had enchanted a stone slab inside the tub so that once water was being pumped into it, the slab would quickly heat the water to a hot, pleasant temperature. For all the talk she had heard about the “dirty Horde”, Svanna knew her companions bathed daily. She had found it strange at first, but soon began emulating them, lest they think she had poor hygiene habits. The room steamed up as the water touched the enchanted stone slab, making it comfortable and warm enough to undress. She lowered herself into the tub, resting her head on the edge. 

Urguz would be leaving the following morning and she wouldn’t see him for almost three months. She wrestled with her guilt. They hadn’t done anything but cuddle in bed.

It had felt nice, too.

More than anything, the thought of his absence haunted her. She would miss him so much. What if he decided, while he was away, that they had made a mistake? What if she let him go without expressing her love for him? Without consummating the bond they were attempting to forge?

She saw her warped reflection in the foggy mirror as she scrubbed her skin. 

“This can’t go on,” she told herself. 

That night would have to be the night, she decided.

* * *

Urguz looked up briefly when she returned to the room, her skin ruddy and the ends of her hair slightly damp from her bath. She was wrapped up in her woolen coat and white nightshirt. He was busy stuffing the last of his belongings into the fully-packed bag. Still spread out on the ground were an extra pair of boots and a few books. A pang of sadness came over her. 

“Can I help?” she asked.

He glanced about the room as if taking mental note of the belongings.

“Let’s see…I got my clothes…books…weapons…”

“Why would you need weapons?” She sat on the bed.

“I may not need them, but I like to have them with me. Durotar is very desolate in some places. It’s good to be prepared.”

“When do you leave?”

“Ah…That will depend on the storm. It seems to be winding down. So, at first light, probably.”

Svanna watched him finish packing his things, hoisting the bag up a couple times to assess its weight. 

“I’m going to miss you,” she said in a hushed voice.

Urguz dropped the bag immediately and sat beside her on the bed.

“I’m going to miss you, too.” He took her hand in his. “If I could, I would stay. I know the timing is terrible.” He squeezed her hand. “And I’m sorry you’ll be stuck here with Rokal and his grandiose winter homesteading plans…” he teased. “I’m just joking, you know. Rokal will take good care of you. You won’t even notice I’m gone,” he said in a wistful tone.

That appeared to get her attention.

“Oh, but now I think you are fishing for a little sympathy there, good Ser orc!” She squinted at him, a grin on her lips, reviving a bit. He chuckled. She looked down at their clasped hands. “I think…I’d like us to try…being together…before you leave.”

He examined her in silence.

“You don’t have to prove anything to—”

“I want to,” she insisted, her gaze holding his firmly.

From barely wanting to be held in bed to asking him to make love to her was a big leap. What was he supposed to do?

“Are you sure?”

She nodded vigorously. He noticed she had begun to take off her wool coat. 

“So…What do I do?” she asked, venturing a look up at him.

He caressed her hair.

“Uh…Have you ever kissed someone before?” he asked, sitting closer to her. She shook her head. “We’ll start there…And if you want me to stop, you can say so at any time, ok? We don’t have to go through with anything.”

“All right.”

When his hand brushed over her face and trailed down her cheek, she closed her eyes. She could sense him drawing closer to her, but rather than her lips, he kissed her cheek. It was soft, tender kiss, his breath warm against her skin. He kissed her again the same way, but this time his lips grazed her eyelids and then her ear. The next kiss he gave her barely brushed over her lips, but it sent a jolt through her and her heart beat faster. 

It was new sensation and her breath hitched in anticipation.

Urguz paused, checking her reaction.

 _She is so lovely_ , he thought longingly. 

It was a small gesture, an innocent one: he raised his large hand to sweep her hair off her shoulder. His hand grazed her just above her breast, over her nightshirt. When his fingers brushed over her, it wasn’t pleasure she felt, though— instead, she had a flashback of her last night with the slavers: she recalled Newlin, his hand pawing crudely at her blouse. 

She gasped and stood up, her heart racing, the memory of that night intrusive, unwelcome, not fading away. Newlin and his greasy face, his coarse, rough hands.

 _There is no difference between that and this_ , came the alarming warning.

“Svanna?” 

Urguz’s voice broke the strange spell, bringing her back to the room. She fixed her gaze upon him, wild-eyed.

“I’m sorry,” she told him, her voice anguished. “I can’t do it.”

Urguz remained silent for a moment.

“Did I do anything I shouldn’t have?” he asked cautiously.

She wanted to cry out in despair. 

_What is wrong with me?_

“No, no…You didn’t do anything wrong… It’s me.”

When she finally brought herself to look at him, she burst into tears. How could she think of Newlin when in the arms of that orc who adored her and treated her so lovingly?

Urguz stood up as well, terribly worried that he had inadvertently caused her distress.

“Please tell me what’s wrong,” he insisted, not daring to even touch her to console her.

“I don’t think,” she managed to say, between sobs, “I can do this. I don’t think I can go through with it.”

“It’s ok,” he said. “I told you, you don’t have to do anything.”

“What if I can’t?” she cried in a guilty panic. 

“There is no pressure Svanna. We will go at your pace and only when and if you want to,” he told her. 

“What if I can’t?” she repeated, shaking her head. “Ever? Then what?” It was heartbreaking to watch, Urguz thought. 

“Why do you say that— I am sure we will: when the time is right. We can build up to it—naturally. You put too much pressure on yourself tonight.”

She shook her head and after catching her breath she began to tell him. She described to him the night he and Rokal attacked the slavers’ camp. That if they hadn’t arrived when they did, Newlin would have succeeded in raping her. She told him the details, every agonizing moment…and her complete helplessness, as she cried out for aid and no one listened.

Urguz was silent for a very long time after what she told him. She had the irrational worry that he would, because of what she had revealed to him, reject her.

_Too broken, too complicated._

Instead, he cast her a pained look.

“I am so sorry that happened to you,” he began. “That man deserved to die far more painfully than he did,” Urguz growled, startling Svanna with his intensity. “I’m sorry,” he continued, “that we didn’t get there sooner.”

It was kind and despite her sorrow, she felt a bloom of hope in her chest. She dissolved into more tears, hating herself for not being able to carry out such a loving duty.

“I hate seeing you in this much pain,” he whispered.

“Can we just…hold each other, like last night?” she asked tearfully.

He nodded and she fell into his arms, grasping him tightly, hoping against hope that she would not lose him, hoping that somehow she would find a way to make him happy, to overcome her weaknesses. His touch was soothing, comforting. 

He held her close all night long. 

* * *

When she awoke in the morning, the sun was streaming through the window for the first time in several days. The cabin was warm and she was tucked beneath heavy blankets. She could make out a folded sheet of parchment with her name scribbled on it, leaning against a cup on the table. The boots, the duffel bag…everything was gone.

_Svanna,_

_I did not want to wake you before I left. You looked peaceful and I thought you could use the rest after last night. My conscience is heavy leaving you like this: I wish I did not have to go. I hate that all this happened to you. I will come back to you as soon as I can. All I can tell you is that I love you._

_You are my heart._

_Urguz_

  
She dropped her head and covered her face with her hands.

_What a mess I have made of things._

* * *

  
Rokal reached for the arrow shaft stuck in the makeshift target he’d set up behind the shed. He liked to practice: he’d always been a good marksman, even without magic. It had come in handy many times when enemies had sought to thwart his attacks by suppressing his magic. Any mage who relied solely on spells was not one meant to survive in battle. He had worked at his combat skills as dedicatedly as his spell casting. He examined the chipped arrowhead as he wrested it out of the pierced bag of sawdust. 

“Eeh. This will be throwin off my aim,” he thought with annoyance, flicking his thumb over the cracked flint. Every once in a while, he would let his eyes wander to Urguz’s cabin. Svanna hadn’t come out yet and he was debating whether or not he should go check on her…or let her have some alone time.

Urguz had stopped by his cabin before leaving that morning. It was a well-worn ritual between them, at that point. He’d expected they’d go over a few basics— Urguz would remind him of a few maintenance chores. Rokal had prepared them some breakfast before seeing him off, Urguz hauling his large duffel bag, tossing his hand into the air as a farewell gesture on his way down the mountain’s trail. 

That morning, though, was different. He was a bit surprised not to see Svanna along with him, given he was leaving.

“We have to talk,” he announced gravely. Rokal placed the kettle over the fire.

“I be listenin’.” He sounded calm, but he was intrigued by his friend’s tone. _This cannot be good._

“There is something you should know about Svanna.”

Rokal turned and faced him, narrowing his eyes.

“I wanted to let you know something about her so that you don’t upset her like I did.”

Rokal inhaled deeply. Had things not gone well between them the previous night?

“So, we both knew that we’d have to take things slowly with her.”

“Yah?”

“Well, it turns out things are more complicated than that. It’s more than being a virgin.”

“ _And_ brainwashed by her mother,” he grumbled.

“And that.”

Rokal crossed his arms and leaned back, waiting for Urguz to continue.

“The night we met her— when we attacked the slavers?”

Rokal nodded.

“She had come this close to being raped.”

“Da fuck be wrong with people!” Rokal cried out, incensed. 

“Now I am sorry I only split the bastard’s skull in half,” Urguz agreed.

“So what happened last night? She be all right?” Rokal worried.

Urguz cast him a contrite look.

“I can’t be sure. I mean, I didn’t have any expectations…I just wanted her to grow more comfortable with me before I left.” He shifted in his chair, feeling self-conscious. “It is very strange talking about these things with you,” he complained.

“Well, if we gonna make this work, we may need to be talkin’ about things…sometimes…because— ”

“Yeah, I know,” he interrupted. 

Rokal huffed lightly.

“She has it in her head that she needs to…please us…and she keeps pushing herself even when she isn’t comfortable…Anyway, last night she said she wanted to try having sex…”

“And did ya agree?”

“I said we could move slowly and stop anytime she wanted.”

“Moron.”

“What was I supposed to say? Know more about her own feelings and wants than she does? I went with it and gave her an out!”

“She doesn’t know what she doesn’t know, mon.”

Urguz frowned and lifted the kettle off the fire, reaching for a cup.

“Anyway…She seemed to be at ease…But then, she panicked.”

“What were you doin’ to her?” Rokal’s eyes widened.

“Nothing much! We were just…I was trying to teach her how to kiss…” he continued, growing flustered. Rokal grit his teeth, wondering why he had asked for more detail: possibly to punish himself. The thought of Svanna kissing Urguz wasn’t an enticing thought even though he knew he would have to make peace with it. “But something set her off. She became terrified.”

“What do ya mean ‘somethin’?” Rokal cried out, equally flustered. “What did ya do to her?”

“I am only discussing this because you should know and be careful and considerate of her!” Urguz was growing frustrated.

“Yah, I’m not completely delighted listening to how my best friend was gettin’ it on with da woman I be in love with!” Rokal fired back, equally exasperated. “But here we be!”

“I just touched her—very lightly…close to her breast, just over her nightshirt.” They both fell silent. “Apparently, that triggered a memory of that night.” He began to recount to Rokal what Svanna had told him.

“Poor Svanna,” Rokal muttered, shaking his head. “What happened next?”

“She was terrified, scared…Of course, I stopped immediately, gave her some space. She eventually was able to tell me what happened…But,” his voice faded and he looked into his cup. “I wish I didn’t have to go.”

Rokal continued to shake his head.

“She started going on about how she can’t do this and was just being hard on herself.”

“Through no fault of her own,” Rokal stated stonily.

“She’s pushing herself too much…She is scared that if she doesn’t, we won't want her here with us… And this anxiety and the awful memories…They are just making things worse.” Urguz exhaled loudly. “Have you wondered about it…?” he asked in a quieter voice.

“Wondered about what?”

“You keep saying she doesn’t know what she doesn’t know. Maybe the only reason she agreed to be my… Uh, _our_ mate, was because she just wanted to be with us, to be close. She doesn’t know what the hell it means to be a wife, a mate. All she knows is that we’re the closest thing to family since she’s lost her mother. I’m worried that we are going about this all wrong and we are going to hurt her badly.”

Rokal listened carefully. He couldn’t deny there was something to what Urguz was suggesting. Svanna was naive. And quite innocent. He wondered what she actually knew and understood about the world beyond her little sheltered—and frankly, stunted, existence. The little she had learned had been cruel and violent. She’d been treated like a commodity, like property…Something to be used. Was it any wonder she was a mess when it came to such matters? 

“Urguz, it may very well be. It may very well be that she doesn’t understand and just wants to be with us as a friend. And if it comes to that, I think we’ll have to see. I hope we can figure it out, because we already have da one thing many folks not be havin’.”

“And what’s that?” He appeared despondent at Rokal’s words.

“We already be friends. That be a pretty powerful bond.”

“Yeah.” They remained silent for a while longer. “She’s sleeping right now— I was able to help her calm down. But I need to leave.” His gaze drifted to the window and the sunny morning. “Or I might not have another chance for a while. And the sooner I get to Durotar,” he looked again at Rokal, “the sooner I can come back.”

“Okkie-dokkie.”

“Rokal…”

He glanced up at his friend.

“You…I see you both together and I can tell she feels very at ease with you. You can make her laugh and relax in ways I don't.”

Before Rokal could protest, Urguz held his hand up, as if asking not to be interrupted.

“I think that if anyone can help her, ease her fears…That would be you, Rok.”

“What are ya sayin’?”

“Help her. You’ve always been insightful. You’ve always been so good at reading people’s moods and motivations.”

“Yah, if they be _criminals!_ ” he protested.

“You’re perceptive. You’re observant. You are a MAGE. You are in tune with things other people can’t see.”

“Now ya be makin’ me sound like some old fortune-telling juju granny in Sen’Jin Village,” he joked weakly. Urguz smiled.

“Help her _heal_ ,” he pleaded. “I can’t bear seeing her beat up on herself like this.”

Rokal finally nodded, even though he was unsure of what to do himself.

They finished the rest of the meal in a heavy silence.

* * *

“Take care of her,” Urguz said meaningfully as he began to walk toward the trail. 

“With my life,” he assured his friend, a melancholy overcoming him as he gently struck his fist over his heart.

* * *

Rokal finished his target practice and wandered to the campfire furtively looking at the cabin for any sign of life.

He started a fire, cooked some food, mindful of making enough for Svanna should she emerge from the doorway.

An hour later, he raked the coals over the ashes and made his way back to his cabin. 

He bathed.  
He read and practiced a few spells.  
He began making dough for the bread he wanted with dinner.

Daylight was fading and Urguz’s cabin remained dark.

Rokal decided enough was enough.


	15. The Agreement

Svanna heard a quick knock and Rokal calling out for her, but it made her wince and curl up in bed.

“Svanna, I be comin’ in because I be worried about ya. Ya not be answerin’ and I haven’t be seein’ ya all day.”

The door creaked open and the troll was met with a quiet, gloomy cottage. Svanna’s shape was barely discernible under all the covers.

“I’m sorry. I don’t feel …like anything.” Her back was turned to him. 

“That be too bad." He walked up to the bed and sat on the edge. “Ya should come and eat somethin’, at least.”

“I did something terrible,” she whispered. Rokal’s brow furrowed.

“Yah?”

“I think you would all be better off without me. I’m…useless.”

Rokal closed his eyes against her words. Hers was a raw pain, a leaden pain that kept her from all good things she deserved.

“Ya know…Urguz be tellin’ me what happened to ya.”

That got her to raise her head up from the pillow. Her eyes were puffy and her beautiful hair was disheveled.

“What did he tell you?” she asked warily.

“He told me what happened at da slaver camp,” he admitted quietly. “He thought I should know…and he probably didn’t want ya to have to relive it by telling it again…Unless ya _wanna_ talk about it; in which case I am all ears. But you may have to excuse me afterward if I have to go blast a few target dummies out of rage. I am so sorry, Svanna.”

She sat up, wiping her eyes.

“Urguz is gone, isn’t he?”

“He’ll be back.”

“I don’t know.”

Rokal sighed exaggeratedly.

“If he won’t come back for ya, he'll be comin’ back for me, for sure,” he said simply. She grimaced at him and he celebrated his small victory: she still had a little fire in her despite all her sadness. “He be tellin’ me what happened between ya last night and da things ya be worryin’ about.”

She lowered her head and he could see her shoulders start to shake.

“Svanna,” he cooed, “Please don’t be cryin’. He just be worried and he knows I be carin’ so much, too. We don’t want to hurt ya…We just be wantin’ ya to be happy.”

“I can’t seem to be able to do that. I just get in my own damned way!” she growled with an intensity that surprised him. He arched his eyebrows.

“That isn’t really da way things have to be, ya know.” _Ya don’t know what ya don’t know_ , he wanted to say, but wisely kept his mouth shut, imagining Urguz’s eye-rolling. “But we can talk about it outside.” He tilted his head, indicating the door. “Ya need to get up. Eat somethin’. Ya can’t be gettin’ sick none. I only have enough healin’ potions for me, ya know.” He sniffed, feigning disinterest. Her fist struck him lightly and he chuckled, rubbing his arm. It was playful and when he looked at her she ventured a weak smile.

“Ok.”

* * *

She liked watching Rokal go about business in his cabin. There was something soothing and peaceful about it. He was busy poking a ball of dough with his fingers, tossing herbs and pouring oil over it before sticking it in a pan in the oven he had built into his fireplace.

“How come Urguz doesn’t have one too?” she wondered, breaking the silence that settled between them since she had gotten dressed and appeared on his doorstep.

“Mm? Ya mean da oven?” He pat the bricks. “Ya seen him. He can’t cook. Da orc would burn _water_ if ya let him.”

“How come you cook so well?” She had folded her arms over the table and was resting her chin over them.

“If ya can follow a potion recipe, ya can cook.” He licked some salt off his thumb and sucked it lightly between his lips. He caught Svanna’s eyes, watching his lips intently. 

_That. Right there_. He lowered his hand and turned to the firewood pile by the door. _That be givin’ me some hope. If ya curious, if those impulses exist in ya..._

“Besides,” he added, tossing another log into the hearth, “I be likin’ to cook. We, Darkspear trolls, like da finer things in life,” he joked. 

“Mmpf. You should let other people know. No one seems to be aware,” she mumbled, obviously baiting him. 

He grinned mischievously.

“Ya be sassin’ me, human?” he cried, faking incredulity. 

She hid her head in her arms and laughed.  


* * *

She was hungry. He liked that about her. She was honest about her appetite. He filled a second bowl of stew along with another hunk of freshly baked bread. 

She took the bowl mid sentence. She had been going on about the cultists. Svanna didn’t know how he did it, but she was feeling less out-of-sorts than she had that morning. Rokal always got her to talk or distracted her enough so that her mind would drift away from any lugubrious thoughts.

“They all kowtow to these so-called powerful gods, but what gods need such constant fussing and… _sacrifices?_ ” she complained.

“Ah, but demons be opportunistic. A lot of demons have enough power to be impersonating a deity and they all be wantin’ blood to fuel their abilities.”

“But why can’t people _see_ it for what it is? A scam.” She popped some bread into her mouth. It made him glad to see her eat. Always had. 

_Let me be carin’ for ya_ , he thought tenderly. 

“I think sometimes people just need to be havin’ their baser impulses expressed through somethin’ greater than themselves,” he concluded, sitting back and enjoying a sip of the mead they’d recently brought back from Everlook.

“Maybe they should just be sacrificing themselves and do the world a favor.”

“Well, ya be a hero to that little boy… And his mother for sure. And she be kind of a big deal in da Horde.”

Svanna couldn’t help grinning. It would all be so shocking if she were at home. She would have never imagined such a thing just a year earlier. 

“I’m not a hero. And the cultists caught me. They would have killed me and Broggu if you hadn’t arrived in time.”

He shook his head. “If ya hadn’t been there, we wouldn’t have noticed da boy: da sorceress and her accomplice would’ve gotten away and Broggu would be dead, his blood used to power some bad, bad mojo,” he explained.

“I could hardly defend him,” she lamented.

“Ya bought him enough time, didn’t ya?”

She said nothing.

“Ya be a good runner, Svanna. Ya kept him alive. Ya did ya best. Ya be stronger than ya think.”

She had the audacity to blush. She really had no idea how lovely and sweet she was, he thought, charmed.

“I didn’t know you could use a bow and arrow,” she changed the subject, remembering how his arrow had felled the sorceress.

“Eh…If ya a Darkspear, it doesn’t matter if ya are a priest, a warlock, a princess, a fisherman, a banana,” he rattled off, smiling when she cracked a grin at his nonsense. “Ya gotta know how to fight. Ya have to master a weapon. Ya can’t always count on magic to save ya. Magic be a tricky thing and sometimes it can fail ya like a broken sword in da battlefield. When that be happenin’, ya gotta be able to adapt and keep fightin'. 

She tore off another piece of bread from the loaf. 

“Where do you think Urguz is now?”

_Ah…he never be far from her thoughts._

“He probably be in Everlook for da night…Out to Orgrimmar by wind rider in da morning, if da storm isn’t too strong."

“Can the wind riders travel through all that wind and snow?”

“Oh, yah. They be strong animals. And if da wind rider can’t fly for whatever reason, he will land somewhere they can take shelter at. Don’t ya worry. Urguz has done this a million times in even _worse_ weather.”  
  
She finished her dinner and they continued to talk about different things. She loved asking him about his life back in Senjin Village. She knew so little about the world beyond Stormwind, she clung to his every word. After a while they played a game of cards and after that, she helped him clean up, going with him to wash their bowls and cooking pots under the pump outside. When they were done, she looked longingly toward Urguz’s cabin.

“I think I’m going to take a bath and go to bed,” she announced.

“All right. Good night then,” he said kindly, picking up the remaining crockery and heading back to his own cottage.

She needed space and she needed time. Her heart was still aching and she was still sorting through so many different emotions, he understood. 

* * *

Rokal squinted sleepily toward the door when he heard the knock.

He had no idea how long he’d been asleep for— only that it was late and he’d fallen asleep with a book on his chest. 

“Are you up?” Svanna asked outside the door.

_I am now._

“Come in,” he invited her. 

She entered quickly, shutting the door against the cold night behind her. She was wrapped in a blanket and carried a pillow in her arms. 

“I can’t sleep.”

“Ah.” He rested on his elbow. “Ya know: I can’t either.”

She sat across from him, on the chair next to the fireplace. 

“Why is that?”

“Ok, so, there be this human girl and she be knockin’ at my door at da most inappropriate hours to be tellin' me…”

She didn’t let him finish— she tossed her pillow at his head. He raised his arm, deflecting it, and chuckled. 

“What be da matter? Why can't ya sleep?” he finally asked.

She toyed with the fringe on her blanket.

“I’m not a very good wife, am I?”

“Mm? Ya be obsessing about that? Don’t punish yasself, Svanna,” he told her.

“I was thinking. I want you to help me.” 

“Help ya how?”

“I’m tired of being scared. Let’s do it. Right now.”

He blinked slowly. She looked determined, like she had been thinking about it. There was her reason for not sleeping, he guessed: she’d probably been tossing around in bed working up the courage to ask him such a thing.

“Ya want me to…”

“Sex. I want you to just…Let’s get it over with. It needs to happen. Enough running away.”

“Ah.” He carded his fingers through his thick hair. “I understand. Must be frustrating.”

She nodded, her cheeks red. Without another word, she pushed up from the chair, and walked up to the bed. How many times had he fantasized about her…Except, the reality presented him with very different circumstances. He extended his hand and grasped hers— she flinched, very slightly, but he noticed it. Her hand was cold. 

“I wanna be showin’ ya something.” He moved further into the bed. “Lie down,” he suggested, reaching for her pillow, which had fallen at the end of the bed. 

She moved stiffly, with what he perceived as resignation. His heart ached for her. _Like a lamb to da slaughter_ , he sighed quietly.  
When she lay down, though, and peered at the ceiling, she cried out in delight. Instead of wooden rafters, the ceiling over Rokal’s bed was a large angled window panel. She could see the stars between the snow flurries. Her unguarded, spontaneous reaction made him smile. 

“This is so beautiful!” 

“It is!” he agreed.

“Look at that! You fall asleep beneath the stars every night!”

“Sometimes. Some nights it be very dark and stormy. But, yes, on a clear night, it be amazin’.” He folded his arm beneath his head and directed his gaze to the sky. 

They lay in silence for a while before Rokal reached for her hand again. She took it and clasped it tightly. 

“Svanna…I won’t be havin’ sex with ya tonight,” he told her, turning his head to face her.

Was it relief? Disappointment? She began blinking rapidly.

“All right.”

“Not because I don’t want to,” he added softly. “Because I do. But... I want you to want to.”

She turned her head to him, surprised.

“But I said you could—”

“No. Not like that.” He ran his thumb over her hand gently. “I think da way ya be goin’ about it isn't good for ya.” He spoke in a hushed tone, his caress over her hand so soothing.

“What do you mean?” Her brow furrowed.

“Ya think sex just be somethin’ physical…but sex be happenin’ in here,” he stated, letting go of her hand and tapping his head. 

“I don’t understand.”

 _Slowly_ , he thought. _I need to be understandin’ what she knows first._

“Do ya be knowin’ how sex works?”

“Of course!” she said indignantly, crossing her arms defensively. 

“Look, I think I can help ya. But there be things I need to know.”

“Why?” 

He paused, to collect his thoughts.

“Because I don’t want to be hurtin’ ya. Because I want ya to enjoy yasself— sex should feel good, ya know.”

“Oh.”

She _didn’t_ know. Her mother had been content living her life as a servant, never expressing any interest in finding another husband or even entertaining the thought of meeting other men. Her mistress and lord had been an elderly couple. All she had witnessed between them had been a gentle camaraderie. It seemed to have nothing, even remotely, of an intimate nature. They even slept in separate quarters. The books she read, the stories she heard— anything regarding love had seemed more abstract and idealized. Anything else had been framed to her as dangerous, predatory, and depraved. 

“So—tell me. What do ya be knowin’ about it?” He sat up a bit to look at her, resting on his elbow. The fire blazed in the hearth, casting an orange glow throughout the cabin. Rokal’s green eyes were so clear, they looked almost gold in that light as he peered at her.

“You seriously want me to tell you how sex works.”

He shrugged.

“Who knows? Maybe I be learnin’ somethin’.”

She was tempted to smack him again with her pillow.

“Go on,” he encouraged her. 

“So, first... the man and the woman get naked.”

“What? No ‘hello’? 'Nice to meet ya?'” he teased.

“They’re already _married_ ,” she quipped.

“Ok. They be naked. Then what?”

“Then, the man puts his...” Her eyes darted briefly to his breeches before she averted her gaze. “His... _thing_ in the woman’s.”

Rokal pursed his lips.

“The _what_ and the _what?”_ _Spirits, she can't even be bringin' herself to utter da names._

“You _know_ ,” she stated crossly. 

“Nose? Armpit?”

This time, the pillow hit him full in the face.

“Ok, Ok…Then, what?” 

“Then they have the sex.”

Yes. THE sex. The big unknown. 

“I see.” It was this perfunctory explanation he suspected had been all Svanna had gotten from her mother. “Do ya think they might do it just for fun?”

She turned her face away from him.

“I don’t know.”

 _Careful_ , he thought. _She be knowing so little and the only experience she be havin’ so far be a violent one_. 

“Ya wanna hear how I would describe it?”

She looked at him, her expression serious. She nodded.

“Sex, on its own, is not that complicated and there be lots of different ways of havin’ it. What makes it good is how ya think and feel about it. It can be…excitin', it can be relaxin', it can be indulgent, it can be comfortin’…and it can be soulful and emotional. But what be makin’ it what it is has to do mostly with this,” he pointed again to his head, “and this,” he pointed at the spot on his tunic over his heart.

She pressed her lips, holding back a grin.

“What?” he wondered.

“Nothing…”

“What?” he insisted, taking her hand again.

“I thought you were going to point lower…”

He actually laughed at that, slowly shaking his head.

“At least ya be knowing da general location of things,” he joked. At her look of indignation, he laughed again.

“You think I’m ignorant,” she said once he stopped laughing.

“No…No. I think ya be innocent and sheltered.”

She liked the way his hand felt over hers. 

“Ya ever even seen a naked man?”

“Ha! I HAVE!” There was a clear tone of defiance in her words.

And he had to admit it surprised him.

“I sometimes helped my mother when she had to bathe the lord we worked for. It was just with helping him out of the bath. My mother had me stand behind him while she lifted him from the tub,” she explained.

 _Great_. He couldn’t imagine a wrinkly ass would be too enticing for a young woman. The look of defiance faded, though, after a moment. 

“There was also the slaver…at the camp that night.”

 _Shit, fuck me!_ Rokal chided himself for his insensitive question.

“Men’s organs are quite ugly,” she concluded in a dismissive tone. He squeezed her hand and smiled.

“Ya be right. I think females be far more beautiful.”

Silence.

“I think I’ll try to sleep again.” She began to slide away from the bed. “I’m going back to the cabin.”

Rokal let her hand go even though he did not want her to leave.

He had to say something.

“I think I be knowin’ how to help ya,” he blurted out. "Now, I don't expect ya to fix things by yasself. It's not fair to put that on ya. It be difficult work. And ya need help. But I'm not arrogant enough to think I can be makin' everythin' better on my own. But maybe...Together...If we just try somethin'..." She turned her head to look at him as she sat on the edge of the bed.

He had thought it over and had decided that he needed to drive things forward, but at the same time, let her feel in control. 

“Tell me what ya think: let’s make an agreement to talk every day a little bit about sex…and then we try somethin’. Just one thing at a time.”

She examined him curiously.

“And what if I don’t want to try it?”

“Ya will be able to say ‘yes’, ‘no’, or ‘later’ to whatever it be.”

“What kind of things would we be trying?” she asked warily.

“Very small things, simple things. At first.”

“At first?”

“Yes.”

“And then?” she wondered suspiciously.

“We'll see how things go. I hope that after some time, ya will be feelin' comfortable enough with me to be tellin’ me what ya want...and what ya like,” he said in a lower voice.

She felt that strange rush again— that dizzying feeling, when he said those words with such quiet intensity, a suggestion that she would not only be initiating things between them, but actually wanting to… She shivered.

“All right,” she agreed. “What is the first thing you propose we try?”

“What? _Tonight?”_ he feigned surprise. “We can start tomorrow. Get some sleep,” he suggested, settling down in the bed and pulling the blanket up. “Good night.” He waved.

She stood still, hesitant.

She was terribly curious.

What would he ask of her? 

“Can you just tell me what you are going to ask me to try first?”

“Nah.”

“We _could_ start tonight,” she insisted. 

He was enjoying his small triumph. If he could get her attention, make sure she was intrigued…

_So much of desire was anticipation._

“All right. Da first thing I want us to try is: sleep here, in this bed, next to me.”

He could see her blush.

“Just sleep?”

“Just sleep. Nothing else.”

She stood, pensive.

“Yes, no, or later,” he reminded her. “Pick one.”

She glanced at the door and then back at him.

“Yes.” She took a step toward the bed. “I can do that.”

He made room for her. She huddled under the covers beside him and looked up at the sky. He let his gaze rove over her delicate features for a moment and he wished he could just lean over and give her a kiss.

 _Soon, I hope_ , he thought wistfully.

“Good night, Svanna. Sleep well,” he uttered, patting her hand before rolling away from her.

* * *

It was very peaceful, she thought, watching the snow billow outside, over the dome, past the window, pinpoints of white snow dancing in the wind. Beside her, Rokal slept soundly, his breathing deep and even. His back was so broad, she noted, staring at his shoulder. She was tempted to reach out and touch him. The light caught the silvery glint of an ear cuff on the edge of his long, pointy ear. His skin was soft, velvety, she knew, from the times she had held his hand and even hugged him. She found her mind wandering, but returning to the one thing she was intrigued about and made her a little giddy.

_I wonder what he will ask tomorrow..._


	16. Setting the Pace

Svanna awoke to a quiet, peaceful cabin the following morning. The fire burned brightly and she was huddled cozily under the blankets in Rokal’s bed. She sat up, noticing he was not beside her anymore or anywhere in the cabin. She had no idea what time it was, staring out the skylight at the mesmerizing view. Another storm had started up and the sky was a turbid grey, filled with icy flakes billowing above. She stretched sleepily, yawning loudly. It was strange waking up in Rokal’s cabin. Even stranger finding herself in his bed. But she felt much better. She was missing Urguz terribly, but somehow, Rokal had managed to distract her and make her laugh. She could almost anticipate all the teasing she would face from him once she stepped outside. 

* * *

She emerged from the cabin about half an hour later, fully dressed. Contrary to her expectations, Rokal did not pay her any heed when she approached the training area. His bow was propped up against the shed and he was practicing different attack sequences, spinning and striking out with his staff. She leaned her shoulder against the shed and watched him. She liked observing him move: he was fast, lithe, his arms corded with lean muscle. Urguz was pure brawn and strength— his movements were concise, calculated to strike hard and inflict the maximum damage. Rokal, however, moved fluidly as he practiced his forms, as elusive as the bright, snaking bolts of magic he fired against a large heap of rocks. Best of all, she liked watching his face, the way his eyes narrowed, how flinty and dangerous he appeared when so focused. There was a wild handsomeness to him, she thought. Just as her mind ventured back to their agreement from the previous night, he turned around, finally acknowledging her. He grinned faintly but then his expression grew stern again.

“Svanna!” he called out in a commanding tone.

“Good morning!” She tucked a lock of her long hair behind her ear.

“A troll warrior closes in for an attack. What do ya do?”

“Pardon?” Her brow furrowed.

Rokal chuckled to himself. She had looked so damned adorable that morning. It had been so nice awakening by her side. He would eventually have to tell her that she was a nighttime sprawler and he had awakened to her nestling against him, her arm thrown over his chest, one of her legs lying between his. Not that he minded one bit. She had felt soft and warm and he liked the delicate sweet scent of her skin. He’d had to extricate himself from her carefully, so as not to disturb her. Maybe Urguz was right: she had always felt at ease with him.

“Defense!” he announced. “What do ya do?”

She looked a bit puzzled.

“Why would a troll warrior be after me in the first place—”

“Ya gonna argue that with da troll?” he cried, dropping menacingly into a hunched attack stance. “Show me ya defense!”

They locked gazes for a few seconds just before Svanna yelped and began to run off. He tossed his head back, chuckling in amusement before dashing in pursuit.

When she looked back, she saw he was rapidly gaining. She ran around the fire pit, stopping opposite from him.

“What ya doin’? Ya stopping? Ya gonna let da troll get ya?”

Although Rokal was focused, she could detect the playfulness in his tone. When he rushed her, trying to grab her, she made sure to maintain the distance between them, remaining always opposite him. In the center of the fire pit was a small roasting spit rack that she was taking advantage of as a welcome obstacle. He chased her around the pit a few times.

“So this is ya strategy? Ya gonna run around forever?”

“Just long enough for help to arrive,” she reasoned, watching him, ready to dash away.

“That’s your plan?”

“It worked before,” she teased him.

“It’s not an entirely bad plan,” he concurred. 

For a moment she thought she had outwitted him when suddenly he dashed forward, jumping over the pit with ease. Before she could react, he grabbed her by the wrists. She let out a small scream of surprise.

“Ok, now…Da big troll be gettin’ ya and what do ya do?” he prompted her coolly.

“I have a very good counter attack!”

“Oh, yah?” He raised an eyebrow. “What is it?”

“I do this: ’Help me, Rokal!’” she called out.

He lowered his head, shaking it lightly.

“That be ya counter attack? ‘Help me, Rokal?’”

“You wouldn’t come help me?” She batted her eyes at him coyly. 

_Da little fox_ , he thought, looking away so he wouldn’t betray a grin.

“Ok, I be teaching ya a trick, so pay attention.” He showed her his hands around her wrists. “See this?” He wiggled his thumb. “Ya gonna push free against my thumbs. Da thumb be weaker and will be givin’ way if you push against it. Ya ready?”

She nodded. She tugged her wrists against his thumbs and to her surprise, despite the firm grip, freed herself. She looked at him with an expression of sheer delight.

“Did you see that?”

“Mm!” He nodded. “Again.” He gripped her wrists more firmly. She struggled a bit longer but eventually pulled her wrists free again.

“Very good!” he cheered. She was smiling, pleased. “That be ya very first lesson.”

“Lesson?”

“Yah. I be teachin’ ya some personal defense.” Her eyes widened. “Ya can learn to defend yasself, Svanna. That be doin’ good for ya—it be makin’ ya feel safer and more confident.”

“Really? You are going to teach me how to fight?” she asked excitedly.

“I be teaching ya how to defend yasself,” he emphasized.

“And then I can go on missions again!” 

He shook his head.

“Ah…We be seein’ about that. Ya not even recovered from ya current injuries!”

“I will be, by spring!”

“Yah, yah…We will be seein’ about that,” he muttered. “Ok, let’s try da wrist escape again!” He clasped her wrists tightly and they drilled the maneuver a few more times. When she managed to free herself for the last time, he nodded, pleased.

“Good job, Svanna.”

Suddenly, his hands shot out and grasped her by the shoulders.

“Now what?” he challenged her, pulling her closer to him, so that they were almost face-to-face. “What be your escape now?” 

She wriggled, trying to shake him off, but his hands firmly gripped her arms.

“I can’t…This is a ‘Help, Rokal’ moment,” she conceded. 

He looked her in the eyes, his expression growing unexpectedly tender. He leaned in closer to her.

“Don’t ya think for one second I wouldn’t come for ya,” he uttered softly, his lips barely grazing her ear.

A small shiver coursed down her spine and she felt hot all over. 

“Ok. Now: how do ya get out of this one?” he resumed his drill sergeant role.

“I don’t! I _die!_ ” she protested, unable to wriggle free. 

“No— ya can do a few things. Da most obvious one is to be givin’ him a good kick in da groin.”

She looked down between them.

“How?”

“Ya ram ya knee up—”

Before he could finish his sentence, blindingly sharp pain overwhelmed him. Svanna had tried his suggestion without any warning. He yowled, cupping his groin and collapsing on the ground.

“Rokal!” she cried out in mortification, falling to her knees beside him. “I’m sorry! I’m so sorry! I thought—I don’t know what I thought! I just did it!”

He grimaced, the pain traveling up into his stomach. 

“What should I do? What should I do?” She touched his arm, grief-stricken.

He took a deep breath and exhaled shakily. 

“Nothin’—just be givin’ me a few minutes,” he managed to tell her in a strained voice.

“Will you be all right?”

Her knee had struck him good, but fortunately, not terribly hard. 

“Yah.” He winced. ”I’ll live.”

* * *

They walked back slowly to his cabin, Rokal taking halting steps. Once inside, he stretched out on the bed and pointed to the small cupboard by the fireplace. “Get me da green-colored flask.”

She dutifully sought out the flask and handed it to him. He broke off the wax seal and chugged down its contents. She watched him silently, biting her lower lip. 

“Ok. Now—take da hot water bottle, but instead of filling it with hot water, fill it up with snow.”

She hurried outside, stepping just beyond the dome, where the snow was accumulating heavily and filled the bottle before rushing back to the cabin. Rokal was sprawled beneath the covers, wincing every once in a while. When she handed him the bottle, he pulled it beneath the blankets, fiddling with its placement as he angled his hips. Svanna watched curiously. She’d had no idea she could cause so much damage just by targeting that area on an opponent.

As if guessing her thoughts, Rokal finally looked up at her.

“Well done.”

She looked at his face in slight confusion.

“What?”

“Ya defeated da big troll.” He lay his head back, squirming slightly, settling into a comfortable position as he closed his eyes. 

“Frankly, I am amazed that’s all it took!” 

He opened one eye.

“He’ll be back.” He smirked.

“Oh, dear. And I bet next time he’ll be quite mad,” she fretted. 

She knew it was quite silly of her to worry about Mr. Big Troll, given that it was only Rokal.   
He chuckled, the sound welcome and reassuring to her.

* * *

Rokal played his injury up as much as he could throughout the rest of the day, and she was on to him. He’d kept it up during dinner, whining that he was in so much pain if she challenged his requests that she do small things for him.

“I’d get it myself, but I’ve been gravely wounded…” he complained feebly, as he shook his empty cup at her, asking for more wine.

“I’d say you are quite restored now!” she scolded him.

“Owww,” he moaned.

She quickly leaped up and grabbed the flask of wine only to find it practically empty. 

“I’ll have to grab a fresh one from the shed.” She threw on her shawl and opened the door.

“Ah, don’t forget to take da dirty cutlery out to wash…”

She halted at the door, casting him an outraged look.

“I have to wash everything by myself?”

“Owww…” he moaned again, louder. She narrowed her eyes at him before shutting the door behind her.

* * *

“All done.” She balanced their washed bowls, crockery, utensils and cups in her arms. 

“Thank you.” He looked up. “And I’ll take over all da cleaning duties tomorrow—I promise,” he assured her earnestly.

“You better. I might knee you again, now that I know your weak point,” she teased, hanging up her shawl. 

“Oooh…I be in pain just thinkin’ about it…” He shuddered lightly. He was sitting in a chair before the fire, whittling out a chunk of wood with a small knife.

She pulled up a chair next to him and sat down, her gaze focused on the lively fire. It was getting late and she wondered if he would bring up or remember their arrangement from the previous night. 

“Mm,” he began, not raising his eyes from his task, slivers of wood accumulating on a the cloth over his lap. “Ya wanna sit in this chair? It be more comfortable,” he offered. 

“Oh, no thank you. I’m fine in this one.” It was sweet of him to offer.

“I need to be thinkin’ about these things now, to be makin’ da cabin more welcomin’,” he mused, still focused on his whittling. “Now that I have a wife,” he concluded.

He finally raised his green eyes to her and she felt a flutter in her stomach under that scrutinizing gaze.

_Wife._

It made her a little weak in the legs.

* * *

He was aware of her closeness, of her warmth, of how easily flustered she became when he spoke or looked at her a certain way. They sat together in a cozy silence— he, carving with his dagger, she holding a cup of warm tisane between her hands. It was peaceful and it scattered the loneliness he had grown so used to.

“What do you think Urguz is doing now?…” she wondered.

 _All right. It was TOO idyllic._ He sniffed, not averting his gaze from his handiwork.

“Ah, he probably be visiting with his clan— anytime he returns, he has to go visit each relative, say hello, pay his respects, honor his elders… Orcs be very clannish.”

She nodded.

“I wish there was a way we could reach out to him. Maybe write. You two never write to each other when you are away?”

He shrugged.

“Nah…No need to. Only if there be bad news. I think I only had to reach him once during all this time we be livin’ here.”

“Why? What happened?” she asked interestedly, resting her elbow on the armchair and watching him intently.

“Ah…Nothin’ interesting. Some damage to da cabins. I was still mastering da dome spell back then.”

“How did you contact him if he was all the way in Durotar and you were here?”

“Well, there be this outpost a few miles south from here. It be a small druid outpost, sellin’ some basic supplies to folk. And da druids be neutral. They can post letters to all da main cities and towns in Kalimdor—as long is it be personal and not directly related to da Alliance or da Horde. They will read everything, ya know.” He frowned, peeved. 

Now Svanna was sitting up, a twinkle in her eyes.

“So what you are saying is that we can write to Urguz while he’s away?”

 _Ah, damn me,_ Rokal sighed. He’d walked right into that one.

“Yah…I guess so.”

“So…when can we go? I’d like to write Urguz. I think it would ease my heart.”

He made soft huffing sound.

“Eh… We can be trekkin’ to da outpost once da storm be dyin’ away. Sound fair?”

She clasped her hands.

“Yes!”

* * *

  
Svanna tipped her cup back, drinking the last of her tisane between furtive looks.

It was almost bedtime and still there was no mention of their…deal. Maybe she would jar his memory. _Subtly._

“It’s getting late, isn’t it?” 

“Mm.” He placed the dagger on his lap, running his finger over the rough nail groove for the dart he’d been whittling. ”If ya sleepy, ya can go ahead. I’m not tired yet.”

“Oh, I’m not tired!” she replied. “I just thought…I’d mention it.” She exhaled heavily, realizing how daft she sounded. 

He kept his eyes trained on the dart.

She was too adorable. She was getting antsy because of their agreement from the previous night, of course.

_Good. Anticipation be a good thing in these matters._

“So, what do ya want to talk about?” he asked casually, turning the coarse dart in his fingers, examining it in the firelight.

“Talk? About what?” she asked too quickly. He gave her a knowing glance and she, predictably, flushed. “Oh…That’s right! We almost forgot, didn’t we?” She tittered a bit nervously.

“Unless ya’d rather not. We don’t have to,” he said.

Now she was sitting up in her seat, her attention riveted.

“Oh, that’s fine. We can…we can talk now,” she said, trying to keep an even tone.

“All right…So, Svanna…”

She was watching him expectantly.

“Yes?”

“Is there anything ya wanna ask or know about sex?”

She appeared honestly puzzled.

 _Ya have to lead, di’shara,_ he thought, using the Zandali word for 'beloved'. _Ya set da pace; it be da only way we be knowin’ when ya be ready._

“Oh.” She slumped back in her chair. “I have to come up with the topic?”

“Mm.” He sheathed the small knife. “What are ya curious about? What do ya want to know? Ask anythin’. Nothin’ be off-limits and I’ll do my best to be answerin' ya,” he told her. 

She did have a million questions. She understood so little. She fell into thought while he cleaned the wood shavings, tossing them into the fire, and placed the dart-in-progress on a nearby shelf before sitting next to her again.

What if he thought her too forward? Or ignorant? Her mother would grow furious with her when she asked too many questions about such matters. Possibly the last time they had spoken about anything related to sex in any depth had been when she was younger and had started to bleed.

She thought of how he had collapsed in pain that afternoon.

“I don’t understand why you were in so much pain after I kneed you,” she started cautiously.

“Because ya rammed ya knee right in my _privates_ —that’s why!” He chuckled. “I be havin’ mixed feelings about that: I be very proud that ya defended yasself.”

She squirmed a bit in the chair.

“I know…but…Why? I don’t really know…” Her cheeks were stinging. “How do things work down there…You know…for males?” Her voice had grown very quiet and she was unable to look him in the eye. 

He listened, rolling his shoulder back, chasing some stiffness away.

“I see.” He stood up. “Ya want me to show ya?”

Her heart began to pound and her mouth went dry. _Yes?_

But he simply walked past her and began to peruse his bookshelves.

“Now, where is that book hidin’…?” he mumbled. “Ya know that before I was a battle mage, I trained, like a lot of folks who wield magic, to become a healer.”

_Oh. He’s just looking for a book._

“What happened?” She asked, recovering from her surprise.

“I got tired of fixin’ my people when they got beat-up and decided to make sure they didn’t get broken in da first place.” He winked. “My mother be convinced that it be Urguz’s fault, being a soldier and all… But I decided to learn combat and enlist on my own.” He crouched down and examined the titles lodged there.

“Your mother wanted you to be a healer?”

“Here it is!” He pulled out a large cloth-bound tome. “Yah— she be a healer herself. I be gettin’ my magic from her side of da family.”

“Did you learn how to make your potions from her?”

He nodded, absent-mindedly, grinning.

“Some.” He sat down again and placed the book on his lap. She huddled closer, peering at the pages as he flipped through. It was some kind of medical tome, with various illustrations of different parts of the anatomy. It was written in a different language she didn’t recognize and he stopped at an illustration of what looked like a naked blood elf male. In one illustration he was facing forward and in the next his back was turned. He stood straight, legs slightly parted, arms just far apart enough from his body, various lines and labels pinpointing different parts of the drawing. 

“So, this be close enough—it be a blood elf book on anatomy. My people don’t have a tradition of writing down their knowledge like da blood elves.”

“No? Really? I thought you said the Darkspear were very sophisticated and—”

“Aaaah!” he interrupted as she giggled. “Anyway…It be workin’ pretty much da same across all da races.” He brought the book closer so she could see better. “Ya see this here?” He pointed between the figure’s legs. She tilted her head examining the image. There was a bulbous-ended appendage dangling before a pouch-like roundish one. “Ya be knowin’ what these be for?”

“For kicking hard?” She had a glint of mischief in her eyes. He snorted softly.

“Bad design, if ya be askin’ me. They be very delicate and they just be hangin’ there…But they be servin’ a purpose.” He stopped to think for a moment. “Now, I don’t be knowin’ da proper names for all these things in Common—I only know da crass names, which is usually da first thing ya learn when ya start to study a new language, so I be doin’ my best to explain them to ya.”

“Thank you.” She looked at him, grinning. He could never have imagined that he would be explaining anatomy and the male reproductive system to the woman he was hopelessly smitten with. He had seen the small dither she’d gone into when she thought for a moment he was going to undress for her. He could have sworn that once she realized his intention, she had seemed somewhat disappointed. _Patience, mon,_ he told himself, launching into an explanation about the function of testicles, scrotum, and hormones that was the epitome of non-sexy. 

* * *

  
It had been very difficult to concentrate when staring at the illustration of a naked elf while sitting that close to Rokal. She did understand what he explained but then she found herself growing a bit distracted when his arm brushed against hers. She liked looking at him. Although she adored both males, they were unique: Urguz had always come across to her more as a knight-in-shining armor type: noble, heroic, dashing… Whereas Rokal came across as more roguish, tricky, devious. It gave her a small thrill when she thought about it. He gave her this sense of…what was it? She let her eyes wander over his strong features, the lips that offered her so many playful and sly grins and spoke in that low voice that never betrayed anything but self-assuredness and a sharp wit. She liked his long ears, how he placed small cuffs and earrings on them. He definitely cut a different figure than Urguz, whose aesthetic was simpler: except for his tattoos, he wore nothing ornamental. Rokal had rings of different sizes on his fingers, pendants and small medallions hanging from leather cords around his neck, and a thick armband around his left bicep. She remembered how his hands had gripped her arms earlier, how his face had been so close to hers and those green eyes had examined her so shrewdly. She liked it. She liked _him_. And it was so confusing because he was able to arouse all those unfamiliar sensations within her and she did not know what to do with them.

He paused to take a drink from his cup.

 _What’s wrong with me?_ She thought, growing restless just watching him drink, the muscles in his neck moving. She almost wanted to reach out and touch him, feel that contained strength under her fingertips. _Hush those thoughts…He’d find me very weird, very odd,_ she decided, guiltily. 

* * *

His explanation had gone beyond what he’d originally intended, admittedly, but he’d been compelled to tell her more, because every good healer knew that everything was interconnected and also, maybe, just maybe, he’d wanted to impress her a little bit with his knowledge just to show her that he wasn’t just some wisecracking joker; so, he’d begun talking about other organs. When he placed his cup down and was about to resume his explanations, he peered up at her to see how she was faring. He caught her staring at him.

The expression he saw in her eyes he recognized, and recognized _well_. 

He found himself a bit bemused by the discovery.

_She be checkin’ me out._

It almost took his breath away.

“Ah…I think I be talkin’ too much!” He grinned at her, rubbing the back of his neck. 

_I be knowin' this look._

It was very seductive to be on the receiving end of such a gaze, for once. But he remained cautious, as if any abrupt movement would break the spell that had overcome her. 

“No, no…Thank you for explaining it to me,” she said, holding his gaze. 

“Do ya have any questions?”

She did. She had so many questions. For one, she didn’t understand how the male’s bulbous appendage fit with a female’s. How did that whole act actually work? But she didn’t want to ask anymore questions that night. She wanted to get to the _other_ part of their agreement. She was eager to know what he would propose they try that night.

She shook her head, her eyes never breaking away from his. 

He wanted to kiss her so much right then.

_Patience._

“Ok.” He sighed. “I be closing this book for tonight, then. I think our elf friend be gettin’ a little cold,” he joked. Svanna seemed to stir from her trance and smiled shyly. “Ya be ready for bed?” 

She nodded, trying to mask her eagerness.

“Ok.” He went about the room blowing out the candles and dousing the lantern. She slipped under the covers, watching him, expectantly. When he was done, he climbed over her and settled in his side of the bed.

“Good night, Svanna.” He rolled away from her.

She lay in silence for a moment, trying to sort through her sudden frustration. Had he forgotten? Did it not really matter to him? Maybe she should remind him. Or perhaps he would find her too forward. She huffed softly.

Rokal grinned when he heard her huff. 

“Hey,” he called out in the silent cabin.

“What is it?”

“I almost forgot something…”

“Oh?” 

“There be somethin’ I want to be tryin’ tonight.” He rolled over and faced her.

She waited for him to speak. Instead, he raised his hand and caressed her cheek. He gently nuzzled her neck with his nose. His touch sparked a pleasant tingle throughout her body. She held still, in anticipation of more.

“I’d like to hold and feel ya close,” he whispered in her ear. “Yes, no…or another time?”

She gazed into her eyes, his lips so tantalizingly close.

“That’s…That's fine.” She stammered nervously. “Yes.”

He grinned and sat up, pulling off his tunic.

“I hope this be all right—it be getting too hot, otherwise.”

He sidled up to her and embraced her, drawing her against him. 

“Ya ok?” 

“Yes,” she managed to reply.

He sighed, running his hand up and down her back gingerly. She thought it was very different from being held by Urguz. When Urguz had held her, she had felt warm and safe. He had been sheltering and consoling her and her state of mind then had been very, very different. Right then, with Rokal, though, it felt distinctly different. It was in how his fingertips glided over her back, circling between her shoulder blades, then trailing down her spine only to caress the small of her back before slowly making his way up again. Far from soothing her, his touch was making her feel…agitated. Svanna ventured her own attempt at reciprocating his touch and raised her hand, splaying it over Rokal's bare chest. 

“Mm…Feels nice,” he murmured, brushing his nose over her hair. She tentatively caressed him, marveling at how tight and strong he felt, but also how warm. She liked feeling his chest rise and fall with each breath against her palm. It all felt a little overwhelming and a bit like they were transgressing, but not enough to discomfit her. It was still affectionate and tender, she reasoned. She liked how he smelled— musky and woodsy. When his hand went a bit lower than the small of her back, caressing her bottom for a brief moment, it sent a jolt through her, the soft throbbing between her legs growing more urgent. She drew in a breath and stilled, but as quickly as it had strayed, the errant hand returned to her back, his fingers tracing their way up her spine. She remained still, dazed by what his touch had awakened in her.

She was wishing he would do it again… _Perhaps, venture even a little farther._ How could she let him know?

When his hand settled over the small of her back again, she tilted her bottom against it almost instinctively, nudging him onward. Thankfully, he seemed to understand, continuing the caress, lingering longer, splaying his hand over her hip, dragging his hand over the soft cheeks beneath the nightshirt. She closed her eyes and rested her head against his chest. Underneath her hand, still open over his chest, she could feel his heartbeat, strong and steady.

 _Careful, mon._ It was taking every ounce of self control not to yank her clothes off right then. He wanted to touch her so much right then, thrilled by her delicate encouragement, her unexpected enjoyment of what he was doing to her. _Ya gotta stop before ya get carried away_ …Did she even realize how excited she was getting? And what that was doing to him? He cupped her bottom, squeezing lightly, keeping his touch gentle, quick, just a fleeting caress. He couldn’t resist teasing her just a tiny bit further, sensing her enjoyment: he slipped his hand further, past her bottom, around her parted thighs, barely grazing her sex over the fabric of her nightshirt and small clothes. 

It took her breath away. It ignited a heat that coursed through her, a sweet ache that yearned for more in a way she had never experienced before. She held her breath, unsure of how she’d keep herself from giving herself away if he were to touch her like that again. 

Instead, he slowly released her and rolled on his back, extending his arm— an invitation. She curled into him, resting her head on his shoulder and he turned his head to kiss her softly on the head.

“Let’s get some sleep?” he suggested gently. He needed to calm down or things would end up going too far.

* * *

Long after he had fallen asleep, Svanna remained wide awake, trying to make sense of the tantalizing turmoil he’d stirred up in her. 


	17. Slowly

“Will it ever stop snowing?” Svanna sighed, sitting before the fireplace, several sheets of parchment scattered beside her. 

Rokal corked the wine bottle they'd brought out during dinner. The day had progressed uneventfully: he’d gotten up early to practice, walked up the mountain trail to verify the severity of the storm, and returned to camp to find Svanna in the shed, sorting through the various weapons they had collected over the years.

He’d surprised her when he emerged at the door, leaning against the door jamb. He folded his arms over his chest, an inquisitive look in his eyes. She had startled at first, but there was something else in her manner, too… Something new. It was in how she smiled, her cheeks flushing at the sight of him, acknowledging a newly found closeness. He remembered the previous night, how she had hardly been able to contain her desire.

“What do ya think ya be doin’?” he demanded, pretending to be suspicious.

“I thought that if I am to defend myself, I should perhaps have something other than a killer knee strike?” She brushed her fingers over a mace hanging on a peg.

“Oh, yah? And what did ya have ya mind set on?” He humored her.

“I just thought perhaps I’d keep my enemies at a distance with this.” She indicated a long chain with a morning star at the end. It was a large, clunky thing that Urguz had given up on a while ago. He couldn’t help laughing.

“Ah, yah. Ya will knock everyone out with that, including yaself.”

“Nevermind…I don’t think I can even _lift_ it,” she admitted, grimacing. 

He grinned. 

“Look, if ya like, I can be teaching ya how to be usin’ a dagger. It be an easy weapon to carry and it can be useful for defense.”

Her eyes widened.

“Really?”

“Yah.”

“And what about… _two_ daggers at once?”

He snorted.

“Woman, ya can’t even wield one, ya already running around with two?”

“It looks fierce!” She placed her hands on her hips, thrusting out her chest in a heroic stance.

“Eh…In a battle, ya don’t want to be drawin’ attention to yaself. Da whole idea of a fight is to strike quick and get out as fast as ya can. Why ya want to be showing off like that? Da only thing ya manage to get is a bunch of boneheads wantin’ to fight ya.”

She placed a short sword she’d left on the workbench back on its rack before reaching for a small brick of soap on one of the pantry shelves. 

“Is that what happens to you, when your opponents see you carrying a staff AND a bow and arrow? Do they try to swarm you?”

She stepped out, closing the door and standing beside him.

“Yah— there always be some fool who needs to be provin’ somethin'.” Especially Alliance humans. _By da Loa, that bunch loves to brag about fighting trolls and orcs more than anything else._ His grouchy thought was interrupted, however, when Svanna propped herself up on her toes and gingerly kissed his cheek.

“Good morning,” she said bashfully, immediately turning and heading back to the cabin.

That had been…surprising. Sweet…and unexpected. His gaze trailed after her and he ran his thumb over his cheek where she’d kissed him.

He caught himself and couldn’t help chuckling.

 _Aah…She be makin’ me into a big mush._  


* * *

  
After a brief training session and completing several routine chores, they had their afternoon meal. Rokal settled for a nap afterward while Svanna sat by the fire, busily writing on parchment.

“What ya doin’?” he asked, watching her from the bed.

“I’m writing a letter to Urguz. I’ve already written four pages.”

He yawned.

“Yah? Ya gonna write a lot more? Ya gonna have to hire a wind rider to carry da letter if ya keep it up.” He snickered.

She wrinkled her nose at him.

“I am telling him you are teaching me combat skills.” She held a sheet up before her face, perusing its contents. “I wrote: ‘Rokal says he thinks I’ll be ready to assist with raids in the spring.’”

He raised his head from the pillow.

“I never be sayin’ that!”

“Also,” she continued, pretending to read from her letter, a glint of mischief in her eyes, “I have been learning how to dual wield swords. You will be most impressed with my progress once you return.”

“Ya write that and he be returnin’ da next day, ready to be havin’ my head!” 

“I have already defeated Rokal in practice. Several times. I am wondering if he really has that much to teach me,” she added slyly, glancing at him askance. 

Rokal sat up.

“Ah, now ya playin’ with fire.”

She was grinning.

“I think I need a more competent teacher—”

“Aah!” he roared leaping up from the bed. She sprung toward the door, but he blocked her path, slowly cornering her.

“A more competent teacher?” 

“I’m thinking of training with Zee’s bruisers. Any of them should do, right?”

He approached her, rising to his full height and caging her against the wall between his outstretched arms

“Ya be very ungrateful, ya know that?”

She loved it: his attentiveness, his playfulness. There he was, this strong, dangerous troll…who would not harm a hair on her head. 

“Look, Rokal, you are getting too emotional about a mere personnel change: it’s just business and I’m a mercenary,” she teased. “I cannot afford to waste time with—”

“ _Personnel_ change?” She was a sassy thing. 

Before she understood what was happening, he’d scooped her up and was carrying her across the room.

“What are you—”

“First of all, ya know nothin’ and no more goin’ easy on ya! From now on ya must call me Zul’Rokal: _Master_ Rokal.”

“ Ha! That’s what you should be calling my _knee!_ ” she provoked before he assailed her with tickling and she screamed with laughter, squirming in his arms. He tossed her over the bed and collapsed next to her. 

“Ya be a very insolent pupil,” he grumbled gamely.

“And you are so bossy! Do kindly decide if I am your pupil, or your servant, or your—”

“My wife,” he interrupted gently, reaching for her hand, their fingers twining. Her playful look softened into a sweet grin. He pulled her into an embrace and she held him tightly, closing her eyes, a rush of tenderness overcoming her. She loved him— pure and simple.

* * *

After dinner, when he returned from washing all the utensils and pots, he found her poring over her epic to Urguz, which was only increasing in volume. 

“Seriously, Svanna—what ya be tellin’ Urguz that ya be writin’ so much?” he puzzled, stashing the bowls away.

“Well, I like to tell him what I’ve been doing: I’ve described to him our daily routine. And I share my thoughts and impressions about various things, like the book I’m reading now…And I ask him questions and ask him about his thoughts.”

Rokal chuckled. It was very sweet. And he knew the big lug would be thrilled to get such a dainty, fluffy love letter. She tapped the sheets into a neat pile over the table.

“I’m almost done.” She sighed, folding the pages neatly and placing them in a small writing folio. She made a little production of sitting back into the chair and folding her hands on her lap before inquiring: “What should we do now?”

She was trying to be so nonchalant. 

And he was going to tease her and make her wait a bit longer. He glanced around the room until he found what he was looking for.

“Let’s play _rush’rokh_.”

Play—what? It wasn’t what she’d had in mind when she’d issued forth her question, she thought inhaling deeply as Rokal pulled down a box from one of the bookshelves.

“What’s… _Roosh_ …?” 

“ _Rush’rokh_.”

She sat back up, examining the smooth wooden board inlaid with what looked like opalescent shell. He flicked open a small latch on the side of the box and began to take out polished stone game pieces.

“It be an old game. I believe humans have a version of it, too?”

It did look familiar to her. She was almost sure she had seen something like it back in Stormwind. She could swear her lord and lady had such a board set up in their visiting parlor, but she’d never seen anyone play it.

“So, this be a game of strategy: we be two opposin' armies and ya objective is to be gettin’ as many of my pieces from my side of the board while defendin' ya side and ya pieces.”

She nodded, taking in the board.

“Sounds simple enough.”

He chuckled, sitting opposite her.

“We’ll see.”

* * *

  
She learned the basics quickly and was enjoying the tactical aspect of the game. Svanna was intelligent and spirited and he enjoyed playing the game like he hadn’t in a long time. Urguz had no patience for such games. 

“Do people play this a lot?” she wondered, her hand hovering over a piece as she debated whether or not to move it.

“Mm…it depends. In some places they be playin’ it as much as cards. Some folk even be placin’ wagers.”

“Really? Even when matches may take a while to finish?”

“Ah, they be placin’ wagers in different ways. Back home, they be bettin’ on different players and be payin’ out each time a pawn falls.”

“Let’s wager,” she suggested.

“Ya ever wager before?” he wondered, raising his green eyes.

“No, but I’d like to try.”

Rokal pursed his lips. 

“Okkie-dokkie. What we wagerin’?”

“Ten gold pieces!”

His eyes widened.

“Ya definitely never wagered before! Ya have da gold to back that up?”

“I will soon!” She moved one of her pieces.

He smirked at her cockiness, but sat up suddenly alarmed, after examining the board. She let out a delighted laugh. She had cornered him—not badly enough to beat him, but enough to buy herself a little more time and rack up a few more points. He hadn’t expected the move or even seen it coming. She plucked his defeated piece off the board with glee.

“I believe you owe me ten gold pieces?” she announced smugly.

He pointed at her.

“Ya wait: I be gettin’ it back in da next play. Ya just wait.” He surveyed the board more attentively. “Ah, dat be a clever…” His eyes darted over the pieces, calculating his next move. “Ya be full of da tricks, ha?” 

She grinned cheekily at him as she held one of his playing pieces in her hand, her thumb rubbing the smooth surface.

“Now watch this…” He took one of his pieces and moved it past hers. The smile on her lips faded.

“Why would you do that?” she asked, confused. “I’ll only take your piece with this one next!” she pointed at another piece on the board.

He tsk’ed her softly, pointing at another piece of his on the board. “Ya do that and I be takin two of ya pieces at once.”

Her eyes widened and she sat back, somewhat alarmed at the shift in game play.

“I believe ya be owin’ me ten gold pieces?” he taunted her.

She rested her chin over her fist, examining the board shrewdly. She touched a piece but then hesitated, removing her hand.

“Ah-ah!” he scolded her. “Once ya touch a piece ya have to move it!”

She looked at him with a pleading expression.

“But I changed my mind!”

“Nice try: make ya move!”

She grudgingly moved her piece and he immediately swooped over the board, moving his piece over two of hers.

“Ha!” he cried out. “I believe ya now be owin’ me _thirty_ gold pieces!”

She looked a bit panicked.

“I don’t think I even _have_ that much!” she protested. 

He leaned forward in his chair.

“Then ya shouldn’t be makin’ such a gamble!”

She slumped back, sulking. 

“I know how ya can pay.” He arched an eyebrow. 

Again, she felt a rush of excitement and wariness.

“Ya can take over cleanin’ da outhouse tomorrow!”

She looked down at the board, flustered.

“Maybe I can still win.”

“Nah. We gonna go back an’ forth until I am left with da last piece.”

She huffed, defeated. He smirked. It had been fun riling her up a bit.

“It’s amazing _how much_ you delight in getting out of your chores.”

He chuckled.

“Wanna play again?”

“Yes!” She nodded, reaching for the game pieces to place back on the board.

“What we gamblin’ for this time?”

“Chores!”

“Ya know, I kinda feel bad for ya, scrubbing da outhouse, washing da dishes, cleaning out da tub…washing and ironin’…”

“Well, don’t. Because it’s not going to happen. And _I_ won’t feel sorry for you at all!” she said haughtily, pushing her first piece out into the board.

* * *

  
They had played three more matches and Rokal had won each time. 

“You know what I like about playing this game with you?” She was surveying the board and the few pieces still left in play. 

“Mm?” He had steepled his hands under his chin as he contemplated his next move.

“You aren’t letting me win,” she concluded. “You have been playing this game to the best of your ability during each match. I like that,” she said quietly. “I think it’s respectful.” She moved one of her pieces across the board. “Because when I do finally beat you, I know I will have earned it.” 

“Ya be gettin’ better each time,” he assured her. “People be takin’ a long time to learn and play well,” he admitted.

“So what’s the tally? I believe I am in debt and on outhouse duty for the rest of my life.” She sighed.

He grinned warmly at her.

“Ya know…I be feelin’ a little bit merciful tonight.”

“You plotted this all along…” She glared at him. 

“Ya can do da dishes tomorrow…and we be callin’ it even.”

She crinkled her nose, grimacing. 

“Tomorrow was my turn anyway.” She stood up yawning.

“But there be one final condition for me to be wipin’ ya debt clear,” he insinuated.

“Oh?” She had begun to place the pieces back into their box. “Why am I not surprised?”

“Ya have to say, _‘Rokal, ya be da best,_ ’” he explained smugly.

She pressed her lips, holding back her laughter, walking past him to stash away the board game.

“Well? I be waiting…” He drummed his fingers on the table.

“Rokal, ya be da best,” she declared in a hammy manner, imitating his accent, before bursting into laughter. His hand shot out and grabbed her arm, pulling her to him, until she had practically fallen into his lap. She laughed delightedly, especially when catching sight of his indignant expression.

“Ya be makin’ fun of me, woman?” He encircled her waist and she grinned broadly.

“Yah, mon!” she stated gruffly, furrowing her brow. It was his turn to snicker.

“That’s how I sound to ya?”

He liked seeing her so lighthearted, at ease. He touched his forehead to hers and they both fell silent, a smile still lingering on her lips. When he nuzzled his nose against hers, she closed her eyes. His lips were so tantalizing close. Their breaths mingled, warm. He angled his head, his lips pressing lightly over hers. The kiss had her craving more of what he’d begun the previous night. When she opened her eyes again, she found him examining her, his eyes lusty, hooded. She slipped her arms around his neck and waited for his next move.

“So, what we be talkin’ about tonight. What ya be wantin’ to know,” he asked in a husky voice. 

She was so enthralled, she didn’t answer. His hand spread out over her back, drawing her closer, and he kissed her on the lips again…and again. They were soft, delicate kisses, tender and affectionate, and he broke away from her lips to lavish kisses on her cheek, her ears, her neck. She held still as he caressed her, his breath hot over her skin, tingling everywhere he touched her with his hands and mouth, absorbed in the sweet sensations he was arousing in her. She caressed his face, his skin so velvety, smooth. When he looked at her again, she thought she was going to melt. He grinned seductively.

“I think we be doin’ things backward tonight, no? Shouldn’t we be having our chat first?”

“I don’t mind.” She just wanted him to resume what he had been doing to her. 

“Consistency be everythin’." She rolled her eyes as they broke away from each other. “So. What ya be wantin’ to know tonight?”

She pursed her lips and looked up, sorting through her thoughts.

“All right. I have a question.”

“Go ahead.” He was stroking her back again and it was giving her little shivers.

“I still don’t get how a male and a female… fit together.”

His hand halted for a moment, but then resumed as he pondered how to answer her question. 

He pat her arm just as he shifted in the chair, indicating he was getting up.

“I think we be needin’ our elf friend again.”

She got up from the chair a little grudgingly and watched him wander over to his bookshelf and pluck out the book again. He opened it to the page they had been looking at the night before and pulled up another chair beside her. He appeared to think better of it and got up again, fetching two glasses and filling them with the wine left in the bottle they’d opened during dinner. It wasn’t much— but he handed her her glass before sitting down. 

“Ok…So, our friend here, ya already know what all his bits and pieces be doin’.” He looked at her for confirmation.

She nodded, taking a sip of wine.

“Right now, though, he be…Ah… _at ease_. Goin’ about his business. So things look pretty much like this.” He flipped through a couple pages more and indicated a more detailed illustration of the elf’s sex organs, this time with an erection. “But if our elf friend is goin’ to have sex, things gonna be lookin’ differently.”

She glanced at him curiously.

“Ya see, when he be gettin’ excited, blood be rushin’ down there and makin’ this larger.” He pointed at the elf’s penis.

She furrowed her brow.

“What do you mean?”

“It’s how it works: blood makes it…Ah...get longer and harder—firm enough to—”

“Are you joking with me again?” she wondered suspiciously.

“Why? Why would—”

“Because it just sounds a bit implausible.” She vaguely remembered Newlin. He had been touching himself in the darkness, but it had been difficult to see and make sense of it, thankfully. He’d had something fleshy bouncing between his legs as he cornered her and she had understood enough to know that he intended to hurt her. The memory stole the mirth from her eyes. “It sounds very unpleasant. Painful.”

To her surprise, Rokal merely nodded his head as he observed her carefully.

“Ya not wrong, Svanna. It can be. It shouldn’t be, but it can be—for many reasons: if da male be forcin’ himself on someone, if he be inexperienced...or just a shit lover. Sometimes there be limitations or problems. Ya not wrong about that.” He looked down at the illustration again. “But it normally isn’t.” He sighed. “It be one of da most intimate acts people be doin’ with each other.”

“I still don’t see how it works.” She murmured, suddenly less interested. He examined her thoughtfully before flipping through the book again. This time he stopped at the illustration of a female elf. 

“I take it ya be acquainted with this?” He ribbed her. She looked at the elf, noting her nakedness quite clearly. 

“Of course,” she quipped dryly. She placed her glass of wine aside. She was beginning to grow agitated as unpleasant memories of Newlin threatened to insinuate themselves further. Before she was able to speak, through, he turned a few pages over and showed her a more detailed illustration of the female elf’s sex. It reminded her of a teardrop. She leaned over, with furtive interest and stared while Rokal reached for his glass and took a long sip. He said nothing, pretending to fuss with his wineglass, but he had the clear suspicion she had no idea what she looked like down there. 

“Ya see,” he resumed, his voice quieter, “when a female be gettin’ aroused, blood be rushin’ down here, too, makin’ her...more sensitive. If things be goin’ well and her lover know what to do correctly, she be ready.”

She looked away from him, her cheeks starting to sting at the thought. She quickly reached for her glass again to disguise her flush.

“What do you mean by ready?”

He thought of her pushing herself against his hand the previous night, of how much he’d wanted to pleasure her, how he just knew that if he were to slip his hand between her legs, he would find her so soft and wet. He quietly cleared his throat, pushing the tempting thoughts away. 

“Well, when she be gettin’ excited…here and here—” He traced his finger around the drawing of the teardrop and stopped over its rounded top. “Da blood be causin’ it to swell, much like it does with da male…and she be gettin’ very sensitive—her breasts too. And she be gettin’ wet, so when our elf friend and she be ready, one of the ways they can be havin’ sex is by guidin’ him inside her—here.” He pointed at the lower half of the teardrop. 

Her head was reeling. 

“But how? How does it _fit_?” she puzzled. 

He grinned faintly.

“Provided our elf friend knows how to be pleasin’ his lady, then she be adjustin’ to his size. It be as close as ya can be gettin’ to someone—that’s part of what be makin’ it so intimate.”

She shook her head. 

“I just don’t see how it fits—”

“Where do ya think babies be comin’ out of?” It was a rhetorical question, but he was genuinely curious. “There be some powerful muscles there—they be expanding and contracting, ya know.

She fell silent, remembering the one birth she had attended— her mistress’ youngest daughter had gone to Stormwind to give birth and she had been in the room. Svanna’s mother had ordered her to sit by the woman’s head—wiping her brow, clasping her hand as she pushed the baby out. She hadn’t seen the actual birth, but she remembered how the woman’s legs had been parted wide, the midwife sitting between them, encouraging her to push, push harder, that the baby's head was crowning. The young woman had screamed and writhed in pain, but once the child emerged, they had all celebrated and cheered. She’d never forgotten her mother’s words after, as they’d collected the bloody sheets.

“Who could imagine such wickedness would lead to a miracle.”

“What do you mean?” she’d risked asking.

“That a woman’s lot is a costly bargain: for the boon of motherhood, a woman must endure much suffering, from the marriage bed to swaddling clothes.”

Her mother had grown taciturn after uttering her words and Svanna hadn’t pursued it.

She remained silent, her eyes fixed on the page but her mind far away.

“So then, what happens?” she asked, catching him off guard.

“Eh…Well, then they be movin’ together and…Ah, da movement, da friction against each other, it be feelin’…Mm… very, very good.” He shifted in his chair at the thought. “Ya remember our talk from da other day, when I explained what da other parts of da male sex be for…Well, when he be overcome with pleasure, he be releasin’ his seed.” Her brow was furrowed. “And if he isn’t an idiot, he be making sure da female be havin’ her release, too.”

Svanna snapped her head up in surprise.

“What do you mean?”

He indicated the drawing again, showing her the circle at the top of the teardrop.

“This here…it be unique to females: its only purpose be pleasure. And there be many ways to please a female and make sure she is…satisfied,” he insinuated softly, his fingertip brushing over the round nub. 

She blinked slowly, feeling slightly faint. They both remained quiet, the silence tantalizing between them.

“Here,” he continued suddenly, flipping to a different page. “Ya be knowin’ what happens once his seed reaches one of her eggs?”

“Well, yes…I know once she is pregnant, it stops her monthly cycle…but I don’t know any of the details,” she managed to say, staring at the page blankly. Apparently relieved, he launched into one of his medical explanations about eggs and ovaries and the uterus…

She couldn’t stop thinking of the way his finger had brushed over the drawing, of how it made her quiver as if he were doing it to her. It was inebriating and keeping her from thinking straight.

_Its only purpose is pleasure._

She shivered. 

“Ya ok?” He tilted his head, examining her expression.

“I think I’m a bit cold.” She mustered a smile. “I should probably head to bed.”

He lowered his gaze before closing the book.

“Enough for today?” he asked. She nodded, almost relieved. He pat her arm reassuringly and headed to the bookshelf, returning the book to its place. “Svanna...Did anythin’ I say…Upset you?” 

She shook her head as she headed to the wash basin to clean her teeth and wash her face.

“Ya sure?” he insisted gently. “Ya seem a bit…not ya usual self.”

“It’s all a bit…overwhelming, to be honest.”

Everything she had been taught had been turned on its head…Not that she hadn’t suspected it beforehand, given the way her body tended to react in _certain_ situations. In certain situations with a certain troll and a certain orc.

“Ah. I see. I probably could have done a better job explaining it, too, I suppose.” He chuckled and placed their glasses on the table. 

“No…You did fine.”

 _Not so fine_ , he sighed softly to himself. The mood they’d conjured earlier while kissing in the chair had been ruined. 

He pulled his shoulders back to ease the tightness in his back and paused before another bookshelf, perusing its contents before pulling out a small tome and settling in a chair near the fire. She watched him discreetly, through the small mirror tacked over the basin, looking at him sitting comfortably, engrossed in his book, his hand toying with the leather string of one of the medallions around his neck. 

She was in a small dither. She couldn’t remember what she was supposed to do next. She almost bumped into the wall when she turned around to head toward the bed. 

“Good night,” she called out to him. He looked up from his book and grinned, his expression affectionate.

“Sleep well.”

It was a little intimidating to think he knew and understood so much that she didn’t.

She huddled under the blankets, shutting her eyes tightly.

She couldn’t stop thinking of the way he’d spoken that evening, the way his fingers briefly touched the image, his voice low and heady.

_Its only purpose is pleasure._

She tossed a bit over the bed, unable to settle. After a few minutes of that restlessness, she opened her eyes and watched Rokal reading in his chair, his hand casually scratching his chest. 

_I don’t know how to ask what I want because I don’t exactly know what it is that I want from him_ , she thought, frustrated with herself. She sat halfway up in the bed, plumping her pillow up impatiently. Rokal peered up from his book again.

“Ya be all right?”

“I can’t settle,” she complained.

She contemplated him for a moment.

“Can you…Would you come to bed right now?” she asked shyly.

He immediately shut his book, leaving it on the chair, and headed to the bed. When he lay beside her, she turned slightly.

“Would it be ok to ask you to…hold me?”

He sidled up, spooning her, wrapping his arms around her. 

“This good?” he asked in a half whisper.

She held his arms, enjoying his closeness, his warmth.

“Yes,” she replied. He kissed her head and she caressed his arms, his hands. "Rokal?” she murmured after a moment.

 _Please don’t get frustrated with me. Please don’t lose heart,_ she thought.

“Mm?”

“I love you,” she whispered.

Rokal thought his heart would burst.

He held her tighter. 


	18. The Outpost

“What do you think?” Svanna asked.

Rokal surveyed the trail outside the dome. They had been hit with several small storms over the course of a few days and while the snowfall had been heavy, the trails hadn’t been dangerously obstructed. The continuous wind kept blowing the snow off in drifts, gradually clearing out most of the accumulation. 

“Weeeeell?” She leaned out, trying to gauge his expression.

“Fine. We can be goin’ after lunch.”

She clapped her hands excitedly.

“Wear ya good boots, coat, and wool hat,” he cautioned her. “It be a very cold day.” 

She nodded and rushed back to the camp.

His gaze trailed her and he couldn’t help the longing insinuating itself that morning. 

_I wonder if she would be missin' me this much if I were da one far away._

* * *

They made their way down the trail slowly, along the rocky face of the mountain, wary of the steep falls along the trail edge. They climbed over clumps of fluffy snow until they reached the bottom of the mountain opening to the snowy valley. 

“Ya ready to walk to da outpost?” He finished helping her tie on her snowshoes. She nodded.

Svanna admired the otherworldly landscape. The trees glistened in the crisp air as if they were made of crystal. It was beautifully desolate. It seldom snowed back in Stormwind and she had grown up unaccustomed to the sight of so much snow. She liked how tranquil the valley was. Small animals ventured out of their hollows and burrows as they snowshoed by. Deeper tracks over the trail revealed the presence of a small herd of deer just ahead of them. Rokal walked ahead of her, stopping until she'd catch up, as she was not quite used to moving in the large snowshoes. It was a punishing hike, but she liked how alive she felt, how new and different that landscape was…and it was now her home. Cold air filled her lungs and it was invigorating, even though her legs had started to ache. Rokal remained alert, aware of their surroundings, his gaze hard, attentive to every little sound, every movement. He used his staff as a walking stick and his bow and quill were securely strapped to his back. He cut such an imposing figure, she thought. 

As they approached a hill, she halted before him, slightly breathless.

“How much longer?” 

“Ya be tired already?” he provoked.

“No! But I thought we could just stand here for a bit,” she suggested, huffing lightly, as she leaned against a large rock. She was getting tired. “You know: to admire the scenery.”

He chuckled.

“And for ya to catch ya breath.”

She grinned. Had he even broken into a sweat? He smirked and unhooked the water canteen from his belt, unscrewing the top before offering it to her.

“Here: have a drink and take a moment. But we should get movin’. We stay here for too long, we gonna be rousing da curiosity of da wildkins. I rather not be fightin’ them, especially since we be goin’ to a druid outpost. Da druids don’t take lightly to anyone attacking da wildlife in these parts.”

She tipped the canteen back and took a swig of water while sneaking glances at him, his profile stern and menacing as he surveyed their rest spot. She couldn’t help thinking how she enjoyed a completely different side of his.

For the last few nights they had set aside their agreement and not engaged in more than cuddling in bed. He hadn’t pushed her for more, giving her plenty of space. She appreciated it more than she could express, but she was also beginning to think it was time they resumed their evening...research. She had to admit she was beginning to miss those furtive moments where he put her in enough of a daze that she ended up wanting him to always go a little bit further. 

She lowered her gaze to his lips and sighed.

“Ya cold?” He startled her from her enticing thoughts, his penetrating gaze on her.

“Just a little,” she lied, screwing the cap back on the canteen before returning it to him. 

He stepped up to her and pulled down her wool hat, adjusting it so it covered her ears better.

“How come you’re not wearing a hat?” she wondered, looking at his unruly hair.

“I don’t feel da cold as you or Urguz.”

“How come? Is it some great Darkspear advantage?”

“We, trolls, have a little more insulation than other people. We be havin’ some fur over our skin.” 

“Oh! That’s why you feel so good when I touch you,” she said, innocently.

He couldn’t resist the surge of affection he felt; he leaned over and gave her a small peck on the lips before grasping her hand, sheltered in thick mittens, in his.

“Come on—we still got about ten minutes to da outpost,” he encouraged her.

* * *

The outpost was a small stone and wood hut on a hill. Unlike Everlook, there were no bruisers stationed at the entrance. They noticed a couple of paint horses had been tied up to a post next to a large, armored skeletal steed as they approached the entrance. Travelers usually stopped at the outpost en route to the Everlook. It was a fairly safe, neutral stop where a weary traveler could rest for a while, have a warm meal, and tend to their mount. Nearby homesteaders could trade goods for basic staples and supplies. It was staffed by Moonglade druids, who inhabited a nearby research camp on a rotating basis. Rokal reached for some coins in his pocket and sorted through them in his palm before handing them to Svanna.

“Here ya go. Go ahead and explain that ya want to be postin’ ya letter from here. And don’t forget to ask how long they be holdin’ on to any replies when they arrive.”

“I have my own coin.” She pat her pocket. 

He leaned against a tree, folding his arms. 

“Aren’t you coming in with me?” She began to undo her snowshoes.

He glanced back at the tied up mounts. He could tell there were both Alliance and Horde members inside. He knew the druids occasionally struggled to keep the delicate peace and did not want to upset that if he could avoid it.

“It be better if ya go in alone. It be callin’ less unwanted attention to us,” he explained in a lower voice. “But, if there be any trouble, I’ll be right here.”

“Good. I need to know where to find you if my knee and I need to rescue _you_ ,” she replied, before turning toward the hut. 

“Ya never gonna let me live that down, are ya?” he called out.

* * *

The inside of the hut was rustic and unexpectedly cozy. The walls had been painted in dark, earthy colors and geometric motifs adorned the ceiling. A large fireplace cast the room in a warm glow. A long table sat in front of it and two women sat across from each other as a striking night elf with sleek silvery hair stood over them, helping them decipher a large map. The hut looked deceptively small from the outside: inside, there was a counter and a curtained off doorway. Behind the counter, a massive tauren stood, conversing in orcish with a ghoulish man whose lower jaw was fused in place with metal plates. 

She couldn’t help staring at the two until she was startled by the night elf.

“ _Ishnu-alah._ Can I help you?” Her silvery eyes considered her curiously. Svanna pulled off her mittens before reaching in her pocket for the letter. 

“I was wondering if I could post this here?”

“It depends. Where is it going to?” The night elf tossed her hair back over her shoulders. Like most night elves she had ever seen, this one was tall and had distinctive, elegant features. 

“Oh…it is going to Durotar.”

The two women raised their eyes to examine her before returning their attention to the map.

“You can hand it over to my colleague. He can take care of that for you. It should take two to three days to reach its destination.”

Svanna turned her attention back to the large tauren who was snuffling as he laughed about something the metal-jawed man had uttered. They were conversing rapidly in orcish and she realized she could hear differences in how they each spoke it, compared to Rokal and Urguz. When it seemed there was a lull in their conversation, Svanna stepped up to the counter. The tauren turned his large dark eyes to her.

“Hello—I’d like to post this letter, please.”

The tauren nodded, taking the letter and looking at the address Rokal had scribbled on the envelope.

He uttered a few words, but she didn’t understand anything he said.

“Sorry?” she asked nervously, the sinister man standing beside her looking at her with mild interest.

“Five. Copper,” the man intervened in a heavy accent, his voice deep and croaky. 

The tauren raised three fingers on one large hand and then two from his other.

The man chuckled and the tauren did, as well.

Svanna reached into her cloak’s pocket and counted out the coins as quickly as she could, placing them down on the counter.

“ _Throm-ka_.” The tauren nodded at her and disappeared with her letter somewhere behind the curtained doorway.

The strange man kept staring at her, his face hollow, his eyes sunken and but eerily pale. 

“If I get a reply…How long will you hold it here for?” she asked, when the tauren strolled back to the counter.

The tauren glanced at the man, who shrugged. She noticed he had a visible gash on his neck and a bit of bone peeked through the papery skin. 

“We can hold it for up to a month,” the night elf called out nearby, not looking up from the womens’ map. 

“Are you headed for Everlook?” the younger human woman addressed her. “You are welcome to ride with us, if you’d like.” The women were watching the Horde members warily.

“Oh, no, thank you. I…I’m not traveling to Everlook.”

“Do you know this region well?” the older woman wondered. “If you do, perhaps you could steer us in the right direction.” She indicated her map.

“I’m very sorry—you don’t want to get directions from me.” She tried to excuse herself.

“Come sit with us for a bit.” The woman scooted over on the bench and pat the space beside her. She eyed the Horde males shrewdly. “It’s nice to meet a fellow human out here.”

“Ah…I really should be on my— ”

“Come!” She insisted in a jovial manner. “My name is Adilette and this is my daughter, Mariette.”

* * *

Rokal watched impassively as a forsaken man left the hut and wandered over to his skeletal steed. He took his time fiddling with his saddlebags and putting on his helm. He stood still for a bit, as if lost in thought before noticing Rokal and nodding briefly. Rokal waved in acknowledgment as he mounted his steed and began to ride toward the main road to Everlook.

 _What be taking her so long?_ He groused. Nothing seemed out of order, but there was no good reason for her delay. Taking a deep breath, he pushed off the tree and headed over to the outpost.

* * *

The two women were _extremely_ chatty. They seemed to be paying zero attention to the fact that Svanna did not know how to give them directions to the many points of interest they were curious about and were having a great time explaining where they were from (”Arathi Highlands!”) and why they had come to that corner of the world (”My husband has been posted to Everlook by the merchant’s council for the season and we are taking the opportunity to visit this place. I mean, when will we ever get the chance again, right?”). The night elf had already moved away from them discreetly and slipped behind the curtained door. Svanna glanced eagerly at the exit, eager to leave, but those women wouldn’t stop talking.

When the door opened and Rokal walked into the hut, the women finally fell silent.

“ _Necho owachi_ , old friend!” the tauren called out cheerfully. “Long time no see!”

“Lonewind—good to see ya again. Ya still stuck out here?” Rokal grinned at the old tauren druid, before spotting Svanna sitting with the two humans. 

An irrational fear assailed him for a moment: that she would want to leave them and depart with the humans. 

“Oh dear, a lot of Horde members stop by here, don’t they?” Adilette mumbled, all the Taur-ahe and orcish unintelligible to her. 

“Won’t you look at that big troll,” Mariette muttered, pretending to look at the map.

“He’s scary,” Adilette decided. 

“He’s so…so…BLUE.” The younger woman snickered. 

Rokal managed to cast Svanna a bemused look. 

“What can I do for you today?” the tauren asked. 

“Ya have any peacebloom tincture?”

The tauren looked over his shoulder at the shelf behind him and nodded.

“I’ll take four ounces, then.”

“Anything else?” the tauren asked, rummaging through some shelves below the counter.

“Ah, no. Unless ya be carryin’ any fine wine now,” he joked.

“ _Wa, Zandali_.” The tauren shook his head, placing a empty glass vial on the counter. “We still only carry the basics.”

Just then, the curtains to the back room parted and the night elf appeared.

“I am sure we could arrange something for our loyal patrons,” she purred, walking toward Rokal, a fanciful sway to her hips.

Rokal looked stunned.

“Nerea!”

“I'd recognize that voice anywhere!”

He ruffled his hair nervously.

“Yah! It be a long time! I thought ya be stationed in Moonglade now.”

Svanna’s stomach sank as she saw the gorgeous, shapely night elf shake her head, her long hair shimmering like a sheet of liquid silver. 

“Won’t you look at that! The troll speaks common,” Adilette whispered out of the corner of her mouth to them.

“I am. But there’s a colony of owlbeasts the Circle wants me to observe. We’ve gotten complaints they are trespassing on furbolg hibernation dens, causing them to act aggressively. The Circle dispatched me before they became a problem and the Cartel takes matters into its own trigger-happy hands.”

“Furbolgs and owlbeasts in da middle of Winterspring? Still gettin’ da glamorous assignments, ha?” Rokal teased and Svanna felt helpless, watching the night elf smile at him. “Who did ya piss off in da Circle this time?”

She laughed sultrily. “I guess I can’t help myself…You know me too well. And how about you? Still doing contract work for Everlook with your orc pal?”

“Ah…Yah.”

Svanna grew uneasy watching them. 

“Well, I will be staying at the outpost camp for the next couple of weeks until I complete my report. Don’t be a stranger: it would be good to catch up with you,” she suggested flirtatiously. “I might even be able to find that bottle of wine you asked for...”

“I really should go,” Svanna said to the women in a hushed tone. “Nice to meet you— and good luck.” She made her way around the table and walked by the dallying duo, her face stinging as she passed Rokal without making any eye contact, stepping out into the icy afternoon. She grabbed her snowshoes and quickly fastened them to her boots. Without wasting any time, she began to make her way awkwardly down the hill, heading in the same direction they had come from earlier. 

* * *

Rokal tried to catch Svanna’s eye, but she had stormed out without a word. He turned his head and Nerea chuckled.

“Look at you, scaring the patrons…”

He managed to grin.

“Yah— I tend to have that effect on some folk.” He took his vial of peacebloom and placed a couple coins on the counter.

“Keep da change.” He was in a rush to catch up with Svanna. “Lonewind, good to see ya again.”

“Stop by sometime again. Good to see you as well, Zandali.” The tauren waved briefly.

When he looked at Nerea, she had sauntered up closer to him, her eyes glowing alluringly. 

“What would you say to stopping by sometime this week? For old times’ sake,” she asked quietly. “It’s been a while…”

“Ah, thank ya, but I can’t do that.” He began to turn away.

“Oh. Do you have some big job looming?”

He grinned.

“Nah. Not at all. Ya see, da thing is I be havin’ a mate now. Take care, Nerea,” he told her, leaving her with her mouth agape as he hurried out of the outpost. 

He had never expected to run into Nerea again, much less at the druid outpost. He shook his head in amusement before looking about for Svanna. He just managed to catch sight of her cloak’s blue hood disappearing below the hill’s slope.

“Ah, _e’chuta_ …” he cursed softly, seizing his snowshoes and hurrying after her.

* * *

Svanna was slowly stomping through the heavy snow. She didn’t acknowledge him immediately when he caught up to her.

“Hey,” he called out gently. 

“Hey.” She kept her eyes focused on the ground ahead.

“Ya didn’t wanna wait for me?” he prodded.

“You seemed busy!” she huffed.

“Ah.” He lowered his head, touching his chin to his chest. Warm breath rolled out of his nose as white steam when he exhaled. Was she jealous?

They continued their march in silence for a few minutes.

“She is very beautiful,” Svanna muttered.

“Who?”

She shot him a sour glare. 

“What? How should I be knowing who ya be talkin’ about: there be _two_ other women in da outpost, ya know.”

 _Definitely jealous_ , Rokal sighed. But what did he expect: Svanna had zero experience in such matters.

“I was referring to your… _friend_. The night elf.”

“Ah. Nerea.” He inhaled deeply. “Yah, she be very beautiful,” he acknowledged.

Was the "very" necessary? His admission stung Svanna in a wordless, emotional way. 

“Do you know her well?”

“Eh…Yes, well enough.”

“I see.” Her one of snowshoes was coming loose and she stopped, leaning down to strap it back on properly.Rokal took advantage of the pause to reach for his canteen and began to take a long gulp.

“Have you had sex with her?”

He spat out the water at her blunt question. He stared at her.

“Well? _Did you?_ ” Svanna insisted, crossing her arms.

“Yah. I have. A long time before we met. Ya gonna be mad at me now?”

She said nothing.

“Why ya be mad at me?”

 _What am I doing?_ Svanna wondered, feeling very confused. They continued their hike in silence, the sun beginning to set and the shadows around them growing longer. Why had that encounter agitated her so much?

* * *

“How much further must we go?” she asked after a long, silent stretch.

“Another forty minutes or so,” he replied, without meeting her gaze. She grimaced at the stitch of pain in her side from exerting herself at that steady pace through the thick, heavy snow. She was exhausted and relieved when they finally reached their mountain. As they climbed up the trail, Rokal calmly took her hand to help her over the heaps of snowdrift, but he refused to make eye contact and remained stoically silent.

* * *

She needed to think and sort through her turmoil. 

“Ya wanna have some tea when we get back home?” he offered hopefully.

She shook her head, eyes downcast.

When they emerged in the camp, Rokal released her hand and walked wordlessly back to his cabin without as much as a glance over his shoulder. She was struck with guilt and headed back to Urguz’s cabin instead. As soon as she closed the door behind her, she collapsed heavily on the bed, burying her face in the pillows.

Why did she keep torturing herself by remembering the attractive elf if it hurt her so much? To what end? Her mind fettered her with thoughts of the beautiful elf, infusing the memory with the garish colors of her own jealousy and apprehension: _of course_ he’d been delighted and flattered by the elf’s attentions. Why wouldn’t he? The night elf was much more alluring and beautiful than she and he had probably enjoyed sex with her. Nerea knew what to do. She wasn’t a simpering mess, like her.

_By the Light, why am I doing this to him? To myself?_


	19. Bliss

Rokal found himself in a rare bad mood. Few things succeeded in throwing off his balance.

The truth was, though, that he had given in to his wounded pride.

He had not behaved inappropriately. He’d only made polite conversation with the elf. That was all. He refused to encourage any jealousy or insecurity on Svanna’s part. He let his thoughts spur his irritation. How dare she resent him when she wanted both Urguz and him as her husbands, expecting them to sort through their own feelings to make things work?

_She can go to Urguz’s bed and I can’t even be battin’ an eyelash. But I run into a former lover and I am being punished? If she be wantin’ to be difficult, then fine!_ Rokal thought as he stared into the fire he’d been stoking in the hearth. He tossed the poker brusquely aside, its loud clatter resonating throughout the room.

_Aah…Now I just be gettin’ myself riled up,_ he exhaled _. Don’t blame her. She’s always spoken from da heart. And now, she be hurtin’ because this be new to her. Nobody forced me into this marriage. I agreed because I wanted to_ , he thought sheepishly. _Because I love her._

And he had to admit he was being a bit of an ass right then. He remembered Urguz’s warning, “You’ve never been in a serious relationship before.”

No, he really hadn’t. And the first one he was having was… well, a marriage.

_Aah…I be an idiot._ He winced.

He was supposed to be the more worldly one. He was, after all, the one who had vowed to be loving, kind, and patient with her, knowing fully well what she was struggling with.  Gradually, he felt the resentment he’d indulged earlier subside and give way to an aching longing.  He paced about the cabin before his eye caught the scroll of parchment they had all signed just a few weeks ago sitting on top of a bookshelf. Unfurling it over the table, he perused the document, finding and re-reading the lines:

“We promise to be honest with each other. Any perceived slights or grievances must be communicated so they can be addressed. And we agree to always give each other the benefit of the doubt and not leap to assumptions before asking for an explanation and sharing our feelings.”

_Ah!_ He tapped his finger over the words. _This!_

He rolled up the scroll and rehearsed how he would open the conversation with that—a reminder of the rules they had agreed upon together. Just as he was preparing to walk over to Urguz’s cottage, a faint knock came from the door.

As soon as he opened it and took one look at Svanna standing before him, looking so forlorn, any remaining resentment from earlier faded away.

“Can we talk?” she asked quietly.

“Of course.”

She looked down at her clasped hands and he was overcome with tenderness for her.

“Why do ya knock when this be ya home?” he asked. He took her by the hand and led her inside the cabin.

“Because maybe you didn’t feel like talking to me?” She grimaced. “I’d understand if you didn’t.”

“Ah…And if I didn’t, could I be pretendin’ I wasn’t home?” He grinned.

That made her smile. A thought seemed to cloud her expression after a moment, though. 

“So, about this afternoon.”

“Mm?”

She sat on one of the chairs.

“I think I owe you an apology.”

“For?”

“For why I was so upset.”

“Oh.”

She cleared her throat before launching into her explanation.

“The truth is…” She hesitated, raising that clear, sincere gaze to meet his eyes. “I’m scared.”

His expression immediately softened and he pulled up a chair beside her.

“What ya be scared of?”

“I am terrified you will think we made a mistake.”

She would think that, he realized.

“I am terrified that you will regret committing to me when a beautiful elf like Nerea is interested in you,” she told him. “Very, very interested in you. Even I could tell.”

He reached for her hand and grasped it tightly.

“And another part of me feels like you and Urguz would be justified in not wanting to be in this relationship with me anymore. Why would you, when there are less complicated females in the world whom you could be with?”

He nodded, listening carefully, taking in her words.

“Nerea and I cared for each other,” he continued, “but that was over, long before I be meetin’ ya. We had a good time together… But, that was about it. We did not love each other,” he explained.

“Why not?” She tilted her head, observing him. “She is beautiful, she is…intelligent. She is talented… She is far more exciting than I am, in every way.”

From anyone else, he would have suspected a ploy for sympathy. But Svanna? She meant it. Always self-effacing.

“Mm. Nerea be all those things ya be sayin’, it be true.” Svanna stared down at her hands, folded over her lap. “But: there be something important she be not.”

She furrowed her brow at him, puzzled.

“She isn’t ya, Svanna.” He leaned forward, holding her gaze. “Nerea be havin’ many qualities, but ya be da one I love.”

“I don’t see why,” she uttered, her hands balling into fists.

“I don’t be knowin’ anyone quite as selfless as ya. That night, when ya saved that orc boy? Ya be willin’ to risk ya life for another. That shows character and courage—”

“I was so scared, though!” she protested.

“But that’s what courage be: it means ya go ahead and do what’s right even though ya feel so scared.”

She said nothing.

“And ya be kind and thoughtful… Ya have a big, good heart. And ya be curious and open minded. And did I mention driven? Ya have not _one_ but _two_ husbands willin’ to take care of ya, but ya still want to stand on ya own two feet. I admire that. It also be frustratin’ me a bit, but I respect ya. And ya be intelligent and darin’: ya be tryin’ to beat my ass in _rush’rokh_ after barely learnin’ da rules.”

“I came close to beating you, too…” she smiled.

He narrowed his eyes at her.

“Ya most certainly did not.”

That finally made her laugh.

“So, ya see? I fell in love with ya.”

She nodded slowly.

“But what if you get bored of me?”

“I don’t think that be possible. We get along well: we laugh, we talk. When we be silent, we be at ease with each other. Ya don’t need to worry about entertainin’ me. But ya be plenty spirited and funny. Ya be so sweet, too. And ya be beautiful, Svanna: inside and out,” he told her earnestly. “Well, except for ya right knee, that is,” he teased, reaching for her.

She reciprocated, wrapping her arms around him tightly. That was much better, he thought, holding her against him.

“Can I tell ya somethin’?”

She peered up at him.

“I be gettin’ scared sometimes, too, ya know,” he admitted.

“Why?” 

“When I saw ya sittin’ with da human women at da outpost, I thought maybe… Maybe while ya were in there, ya had decided to leave us. That ya had decided ya preferred to be with humans again.”

Her expression of sheer disbelief warmed his heart.

“Never!” she cried, horrified. “Leave _you_? _Me_?”

“Ah, but ya see: They thought I be very blue.” He shrugged playfully.

She laughed.

“Well, you ARE!”

“And would that be ya favorite color?” He arched an eyebrow.

“Yes…” she began dreamily. “Especially big blue _draenei_ males.” She sighed for effect.

“Ya be a big tease, ya know that?” he scolded her playfully. “Draenei males,” he huffed.

She couldn’t resist—her heart felt so full right then. They’d been skirting around any further intimacy for days. She had missed it; she craved it. She blinked nervously, holding Rokal’s gaze before gathering the courage to lean forward and kiss him. He returned her kiss, savoring the sensation of having her once again in his arms. The main advantage of an argument, he thought, was making up afterward. But those kisses were different from their previous ones, she noticed. They grew more urgent, his tongue flicking over her lips until she parted them. She had always thought that kisses were something contained that lovers exchanged like sweet words, but the way his tongue teased hers so seductively made her feel like it was the prelude to more. She couldn’t conceal her excitement: her lips sought his, hungry for more.

“Svanna, let’s move to the bed,” he suggested in a raspy voice.

* * *

Svanna was enthralled not just by their bodies pressed up close as they continued those intimate, tantalizing kisses, but by the depth of her feelings for him— and relief over their reconciliation. And there was something she was just starting to notice— just as he had such a seductive effect on her, she had an effect on him. It was as reassuring as it was arousing to watch his eyes close and his breath hitch when she kissed his neck, his ear. She wanted to _feel_ more and she was tired of wondering about it.

_She be growing bolder_ , he thought, enjoying all of it, the blood rushing and throbbing between his legs. If her mind was still conflicted, her body certainly wasn’t. She was ready and responsive. Her aroused nipples pressed against his chest through the flimsy fabric of her nightgown.

As she drew herself up closer to him, her hips pushed against his, pressing against his erection.

The sensation was exquisite. Like nothing she had ever felt until then. An arousing bloom of warmth spread between her legs, throbbing, demanding attention. Rokal said nothing—he watched her closely for any signs that they were going too far. As tempted as he was to reciprocate, he remained still. She kissed him and then she did it again, this time pushing against his erection more suggestively. He buried his face in her neck and exhaled deeply.  He slowly pulled up the hem of her nightshirt as their lips clicked wetly, gradually exposing her calves, her knees, her thighs... She didn’t want to think too much. She just knew that whatever he was doing to her felt better that anything else she’d ever felt before and it was making her feel almost feverish.

Rokal decided he could not go much further; he worried he would end up pushing her to go too far before she was truly ready. He did not want to scare her when she was so eager and willing. That she was draped over him, seeking contact to satisfy a need she didn’t fully comprehend was an invitation he wanted to accept, but knew he couldn’t. Not just yet.

As he pulled her nightshirt up, between deep kisses, his hands glided over her warm, bare skin. When he finally bunched the skirt of her nightshirt up around her waist, his fingers trailed over her small clothes. She closed her eyes and he wondered for a moment if he should have taken more time getting that far—perhaps caressed her over her clothing, building the tension between them more…But another part of him sensed that she was horny enough right then and that he was only delaying her pleasure. He ventured a more daring caress—this time, he slipped his hand over her thigh, his fingers tracing small circles over the cotton small clothes.

She gasped.

_Spirits_ , he took in a deep breath. She was very aroused. He could feel the heat emanating from her even through the strip of cotton separating his hand from her soft skin.

Svanna desperately wanted him to do more—wanted him to show her what that dizzying, delicious tension led to. He teased her a few more times that way, his fingers gingerly venturing the lightest caresses between her legs. She almost couldn’t stand it. When his hand finally rested over her throbbing sex and he began to slowly stroke her clit over the fabric, she let out a breathy, pleading moan.

His hand stilled and her eyes shot open, mortified. Her hand flew over her mouth in embarrassment.

_I did something strange_ , she panicked.

Instead, he moved her hand away.

“What’s wrong?” he asked.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to—” Before she could finish though, he sought her lips and began touching her again. She closed her eyes, her lips parting.

“Don’t hide ya pleasure,” he whispered in her ear. “It be da sweetest sound.”

_ Oh. _

What he was doing felt unbelievably good. Her whole body was pulsing just from the touch of his fingers. She surrendered to the heightening pleasure and lost herself to the new sensations he was arousing in her.

He could see her enjoyment in her expression— in the way her eyes were shut, how her breath hitched and quickened as he stroked her a bit more nimbly. It was almost too much to ask for restraint: her desire gave off a tantalizing, musky scent and there was a sweet plaintiveness to her moans, enticing him, causing his cock to twitch sympathetically.

_But tonight be just about her,_ he reminded himself, seeking to control his own urges, his heart pounding as she parted her legs further to give him more access. He kissed her more roughly as he slipped his hand beneath her small clothes. She moaned loudly against his mouth as he finally touched her very aroused clit.

Even if her mind didn’t know how sex worked, her body responded. She was so excited…just melting against his fingertips. He continued his teasing caress, rubbing her throbbing little nub, spreading her wetness over her soft folds.She was just so beautiful, he thought, looking at her and then down at his large blue hand bobbing up and down between her pale thighs, her white small clothes pulled down so seductively, her sex flushed with excitement.He grunted, seeking her lips hungrily when she began to move her hips against his hand.

_She be close_ , he realized headily. _So close…_

He watched her intently as she tensed and shuddered, letting out a sweet, keening moan as she came, pulsing against his fingers as he continued to stroke her, making sure he had given her every last bit of pleasure, satisfying her completely. When he sensed she was done, he withdrew his hand, leaning over her, kissing her and drawing her into his arms again.

* * *

“Hey,” he whispered after a short while, as he held her. “Everythin’ be ok?”

“By the Light…” She stared at the skylight, her face still flushed, her lips raw from all their kisses. "I never imagined anything could feel like that."

He grinned.

“But, that wasn’t sex, was it?” she concluded, raising her head, her eyes ever inquisitive.

Rokal rested on his elbow as he contemplated her.

“Ya know, this…what just happened. Between ya and me.” He pointed at both of them, “That be sex.”

“But isn’t _real_ sex—”

“Ah-aah,” he interrupted her. “Da idea that da only sex that counts be when a male puts his—” He glanced at Svanna and grinned, “ _thing_ in her… _thing_ ,” he teased, “be nonsense. It be one of da ways—a big one, I’ll admit—folk be likin’ to have sex…but it isn’t da only one. And just now?” He leaned closer. “I made ya feel good,” he murmured roguishly before kissing her ear. “And all those feelins? Those be what lovers should be doin’ to each other.”

She blushed and looked away, suddenly self-conscious. He cupped her cheek and turned her face to him.

“I love ya, Svanna. I be wantin’ to make ya feel like that as much as I can. I want to be able to be sharin’ that with ya.”

She looked at him pensively. There was no denying that she had experienced something new, something incredible, that night. There was no denying that it had felt wonderful. Even powerful. And as good as that release had been, the delicious teasing and the tension building up to that moment had been just as amazing.

“I love you, too,” she uttered, seeking his lips. He smiled as she planted several kisses over his face.

They remained together in silence for a while, just enjoying each other’s closeness. As her fingers trailed up and down his chest, she couldn’t shake the stab of sadness that emerged in her.

Her mother had lied. All those warnings. And for what? To ensure that she would never do... _This? Never share pleasure, never know excitement of this kind?_ She looked into Rokal’s deep green eyes. _Never know love?_

“Why did she lie to me?” she wondered after a moment.

Rokal rested his head over hers.

“I don’t know.  I didn’t know ya mother, Svanna, so I can’t tell ya…But maybe…maybe she did it out of concern? Who knows? Maybe it was painful…for her…and she never found anyone to help her with that and thought it was normal.” They remained silent for a few minutes. “I do know one thing, though,” he continued.

She stared at him expectantly.

“Ya can choose how ya want to live. Her issues don’t have to be ya issues,” he assured her. “Ya be ya own person and there be nothin’ wrong with wanting to learn and understand things on ya own.”

She snuggled up to him, resting her head on his shoulder. She would have to sort through all those thoughts and feelings tomorrow. She began to slip away into sleep.

* * *

Rokal’s words floated back into her mind almost like a dream:

_ And all those feelins? Those be what lovers should be doin’ to each other. _

Her head shot up from his shoulder.

“Rokal,” she whispered, shaking him slightly awake. “Rokal!”

He snorted, startling from his sleep.

“Mmm?” he grumbled.

“What about you?”

“Mm?” he asked, even more confused, fixing his bleary eyes on her.

“You didn’t get to…enjoy yourself, did you?”

“What are ya goin’ on about?” he puzzled groggily.

“I thought you said lovers were supposed to please _each other_ ,” she insisted.

_Ah. Yes,_ he thought, finding her adorable. _She be considerate that way._

“There’ll be time for that,” he assured her sleepily. “But tonight was all about ya.”

“But that’s not right! You didn’t—”

“Oh, don’t ya worry: I did enjoy myself tonight,” he told her with a wolfish grin. “Mm…Very, very much.” He sighed as he contemplated her and she had to look away, her cheeks stinging as grinned shyly. He began to chuckle, his chest rumbling under her hand. "This only be da beginning," he said, much to her curiosity and delight.


End file.
